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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare needs and services

Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking Final Report
Reports on synthetic drug trafficking in the U.S., including the challenges for law enforcement, need for updated drug policy, and surveillance and data analysis concerns. Discusses public health considerations and challenges for reducing the demand for drugs via treatment. Technical Appendixes include rural references throughout, and Figure B.5 shows opioid-involved overdose deaths by Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) for 2000-2019.
Additional links: Technical Appendixes
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, RAND Corporation, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate
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Pandemic Increases Pressure on Rural Hospitals & Communities: Vulnerability, Health Inequity and Staffing Crisis Amplified in Pandemic's Third Year
Examines the stability of the rural healthcare safety net. Discusses disparities between rural and urban communities and communities with hospitals vulnerable to closure. Describes the benefits of COVID-19 relief funding on rural hospitals and how scheduled reimbursement cuts and staffing shortages could impact hospitals' financial stability. Also discusses how staffing shortages impact access to obstetrics and chemotherapy care in rural areas.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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Maine Baseline Needs Assessment: First Responders
Report highlights a the results of a baseline needs assessment identifying substance use disorder (SUD) treatment needs and barriers for rural first responders in Maine. Breaks down data by county, substances used, and rural versus non-rural areas.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
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Maine Baseline Needs Assessment: Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Barriers and Beliefs
Shares the results of a survey of healthcare providers in rural Maine regarding practitioner-related barriers, patient-related barriers, and practitioner beliefs about treating patients with opioid use disorder (OUD).
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
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Persistently Poor Rural Counties Experienced Lower Employment Impacts From the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic but Have Higher Cumulative COVID-19 Case Rates
Examines COVID-19 case rates among persistently poor rural counties in relation to economic impacts from the pandemic. Offers comparative data on job losses and vaccination rates for metro and nonmetro counties with persistent poverty and non-persistent poverty based on USDA Economic Research Service data and U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Author(s): Elizabeth A. Dobis, Thomas Krumel, Austin Sanders
Citation: Amber Waves
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Maine Baseline Needs Assessment: Rural Practitioners and Stakeholders
Report on the details of a needs assessment of Maine's rural practitioners' regarding their current and future substance use disorder (SUD) treatment needs. Identifies barriers providers and community stakeholders experience when providing treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) in rural Maine.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
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Vaccination Rates are Higher in U.S. Metro than in Nonmetro Counties, While the Gap Between Persistently Poor Counties and Counties that are not Persistently Poor is Closing
Chart depicting COVID-19 vaccination rates between January 2021-January 2022 for metro and nonmetro counties that are persistently and not persistently poor.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Meeting the Behavioral Health Needs of Farm Families in Times of Economic Distress
Offers strategies to support development and integration of behavioral health services across healthcare and community-based organizations, including leveraging payment systems to support coordinated care for farm families and aligning federal grant programs to address mental health and substance use disorders. Features recommendations including integrating primary and behavioral care for initial treatment of mental health and substance misuse concerns, expanding the workforce to improve rural behavioral health services capacity, increasing telehealth services, and expanding private and public insurance coverage.
Author(s): Andrew F. Coburn, Alva O. Ferdinand, Alana Knudson, et al.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Correlates of Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance among Residents of Ohio: A Cross-Sectional Study
Examines willingness to be vaccinated for COVID-19 among adults in Ohio based on survey data from 2,358 individuals. Discusses variables related to vaccine hesitancy such as sociodemographic factors, knowledge, attitude, prevention practice related to COVID-19, and confidence in government. Includes geographic breakdowns in Tables 1 and 2.
Author(s): Zelalem T. Haile, Anirudh Ruhil, Benjamin R. Bates, Orman Hall, Mario J. Grijalva
Citation: BMC Public Health, 22, 226
Date: 02/2022
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Racial Disparities in Cancer Outcomes, Screening, and Treatment
Presents an overview of data on cancer incidence and mortality, risk factors, screening, treatment, and outcomes by race and ethnicity. Discusses factors contributing to racial cancer disparities, including inequities in health coverage and access to care, and social and economic factors, among others. Includes data on cancer disparities in rural communities.
Author(s): Michelle Tong, Latoya Hill, Samantha Artiga
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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