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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health occupations

Immigrant Doctors Can Help Lower Physician Shortages in Rural America
Report highlighting physician shortages in rural areas and exploring pathways by which immigrants come to practice in those areas. Provides recommendations for state and federal policies that would better incorporate immigrant doctors into the effort to ease healthcare shortages in rural areas. Includes statistics on the number and percentage of International Medical Graduates who were resident physicians in the United States in 2017, with breakdowns by citizenship or visa status.
Author(s): Silva Mathema
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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National Program Helps Older Adults in Rural Maine and Hawaii Feel More CAPABLE
Highlights CAPABLE (Community Aging in Place—Advancing Better Living for Elders), a national model that connects low-income older adults with an occupational therapist, registered nurse, and home repair services. Features programs implemented in Hawaii and Maine based on this model.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Psychosocial Supports in Medication-Assisted Treatment: Site Visit Findings and Conclusions
Profiles 5 programs that offer medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD), including several with rural components. Covers psychosocial support offered, staffing and staff training, collaboration and coordination, financing, data collection and quality improvement, lessons learned, and next steps for each program. Discusses the aspects of psychosocial support that are most important for positive outcomes, types of psychosocial support being used, and factors helping or impeding psychosocial support implementation, including stigma and workforce challenges. Appendix B reviews the literature on psychosocial support in MAT.
Additional links: Appendix B: Psychosocial Supports in Medication-Assisted Treatment: Recent Evidence and Current Practice
Author(s): Garrett Moran, Hannah Knudsen, Caroline Snyder
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Data Report: 2018 Indiana Physician Assistant Licensure Survey
Provides demographic and practice characteristics of the Indiana physician assistant (PA) workforce as well as supply and distribution information, intended to improve the quality and accessibility to primary care. Features statistics including county-level PA geographic distribution with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Author(s): Analise Dickinson, Sierra Vaughn, Hannah Maxey
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
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Physical Activity Change after a Promotora-Led Intervention in Low-Income Mexican American Women Residing in South Texas
Examines the physical activity preferences and changes after a community health worker (CHW) led intervention to decrease sedentary time in 620 Mexican American women from mostly rural colonias settlements in Hidalgo County, South Texas on the U.S.-Mexico border. The Community Health Activities Model Program for Seniors Physical Activity (CHAMPS) instrument was used to predict an increase in moderate to vigorous physical activity.
Author(s): Jennifer J. Salinas, Deborah Parra-Medina
Citation: BMC Public Health. 2019,(19), 782.
Date: 06/2019
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Mental Health Crisis in Colorado
Explores mental healthcare access in Colorado. News series from The Gazette details Colorado's mental healthcare system for youth, veterans, jails, and in rural areas, among other areas of disparity.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: The Gazette
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A National Study of the Practice Characteristics of Women in Dentistry and Potential Impacts on Access to Care for Underserved Communities
Results of a study to understand differences in dentist practice characteristics by sex, and to plan for changes in the workforce that could affect supply and demand of dental services in underserved areas. Features statistics including practice patterns by sex and year from 2010-2016 with breakdowns by practice location in rural area, small town, micropolitan, metropolitan, or large metropolitan area.
Author(s): Simona Surdu, Margaret Langelier, Yuhao Liu, Nubia Goodwin
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Community-Clinical Linkages Within Health Care in Hawai'i
Special issue of the Hawaii Journal of Medicine and Public Health focusing on collaborations between the community and healthcare facilities to improve health in Hawaii. Covers community health workers, health systems-based programs, community health-center based programs, and provider-based programs. Addresses rural throughout.
Citation: Hawai'i Journal of Medicine and Public Health, 78(6 Suppl 1)
Date: 06/2019
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Kentucky Community Fights Back against Cardiovascular Disease
Results of a study conducted in Appalachian Kentucky, exploring a program in which community health workers helped promote healthy eating, physical activity, stress reduction, and other activities to manage risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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Promising Practice: Iowa Project Promotes Healthcare Careers Early
Highlights a promising practice led by the Iowa State Office of Rural Health. Discusses the Opportunities in Health Sciences: Iowa Career Pathways program, which provides resources to support high school students and adults looking for a career change to enter the healthcare workforce in the state.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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