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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare needs and services

Frequent Police Contact and Nonfatal Overdose among People Who Use Drugs in Rural Appalachia
Explores the relationship between non-fatal overdoses and frequent stop-and-search contact with the police for rural people who use drugs (PWUD) in Kentucky. Breaks down data by participant demographic measures, such as age, sex, housing stability, frequency of police stops, and drug use, among other measures.
Author(s): Javier A. Cepeda, Talia Loeb, Zach R. Salazar, et al.
Citation: Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 284, 113188
Date: 07/2026
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Exploring Associations Between Well-Being, Mental Distress, and Five Dimensions of Social Capital in Rural Georgia
Explores the role social capital plays in supporting mental health and well-being in rural communities. Bases findings on surveys collected from residents of 6 rural counties in Georgia. Breaks down findings by rates of mental health and well-being by dimension of social capital: trust, diversity of interactions, reciprocity, civic engagement, and voting.
Author(s): Alexis Joanna Smith, Lauren M Bigger, Robin E McGee, et al.
Citation: Family and Community Health, 49(3), 192-196
Date: 07/2026
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Resourcefulness, Ingenuity, and Community Strengths in Meeting Rural Youth Mental Health Needs: A Multiple Case Study
Examines how rural schools strategize to meet mental health needs of their students. Utilizes interview and focus group data from 133 educators regarding their experiences of maximizing school resources, providing staff development and training, and developing social-emotional curricula.
Author(s): Aaron Leo, Jessie Tobin, Paul Guay, Kristen Campbell Wilcox
Citation: The Rural Educator, 47(3), 47-64
Date: 06/2026
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Barriers and Solutions to Effective Mental Health Services in Rural Schools: A Delphi Study
Examines strategies to provide effective school-based mental health services in rural areas. Utilizes feedback from 30 rural educators and discusses issues such as behavioral health workforce shortages, stigma, limited access to services, infrastructure problems, community partnership needs, classroom social-emotional learning, and more.
Author(s): Rawn Boulden, Anna Simmons
Citation: The Rural Educator, 47(3), 37-46
Date: 06/2026
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Promoting Your Teaching Health Center Dental Residency
Toolkit offering strategies to reach dental students and encourage them to consider residency programs in Teaching Health Centers. Full access to toolkit requires a free 3RNET Employer account.
Date: 06/2026
Sponsoring organizations: 3RNET, THCGME.org, The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Receipt of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists Among Rural Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Excess Weight
Analyzes how receipt of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1RAs) varies among rural and urban-dwelling veterans with obstructive sleep apnea and excess weight, using 2018-2023 Veterans Health Administration data.
Author(s): Aristotle G. Leonhard, Kevin Josey, Jason M. Castaneda, et al.
Citation: Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 23(7), 1087-1096
Date: 06/2026
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Inpatient Outcomes and Complications After Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion in Rural Versus Urban Hospitals in the United States
Examines how outcomes and complications of left atrial appendage occlusion for treatment of atrial fibrillation differed by rural or urban hospital location, using 2016-2020 National Inpatient Sample data.
Author(s): Amanda Nguyen, Muhammad Zia Khan, Joseph Neely, et al.
Citation: Clinical Cardiology, 49(7), e70397
Date: 06/2026
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Rhode Island Primary Care Workforce
Offers maps and tables of the primary care workforce distribution in Rhode Island in 2025. Includes county-level data.
Author(s): S.C. Woolcock, C.H.A. Andrilla, L.A. Garberson, J.M. Graves
Date: 06/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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2024 Preparedness Profile Study
Provides an overview of local health department (LHD) readiness in addressing emergencies and threats. Includes data on percentage of LHDs that focus on issues related to workforce, partnerships, preparedness capacity, and preparedness response activity, with select data broken down by small, medium, and large LHDs.
Author(s): Chloe Garofalini, Kellie Perkins, Krishna Patel, et al.
Date: 06/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Association of County and City Health Officials
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Rural vs. Urban Patterns of Dental Care Services and Outcomes among Medicaid-Enrolled Children in Early Childhood
Describes rural and urban patterns of preventive and restorative dental care and oral health outcomes among Medicaid-enrolled children aged 2 through 5 in 2021-2022. Includes data on the percent of children who received any preventive dental services, children with fewer than 2 cleanings per year, and number of dental caries diagnosed each year by rurality.
Author(s): Cassie Odahowski, Joni Nelson, Amy Martin, et al.
Date: 06/2026
Sponsoring organization: University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
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