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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare needs and services

Improving Access to and Equity of Care for People with Serious Illness Proceedings of a Workshop
Summarizes an April 2019 public workshop on models of care delivery for people with serious illness. Includes discussion of access to care in rural areas, including access to hospice and palliative care.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness
Date: 09/2019
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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State Strategies to Address Opioid Use Disorder Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women and Infants Prenatally Exposed to Substances, Including Infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Identifies state strategies to improve outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women with opioid use disorder and infants prenatally exposed to substances, including opioids. Discusses strategies focused on access to and coordination of quality services, including approaches such as telemedicine that are useful in rural areas. Also discusses strategies related to provider awareness and training and other topics.
Author(s): Charlan D. Kroelinger, Marion E. Rice, Shanna Cox, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 68(36), 777-783
Date: 09/2019
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Violence Against Hospital Workers: Growing Awareness, Rural Interventions, and Why It Still Goes Unreported
Provides an overview of workplace violence in healthcare settings. Features rural hospitals in Oregon and Idaho that are undertaking a range of prevention activities addressing workplace violence. Also features research findings from a Michigan healthcare system study on the topic, and identifies resources and tools that rural hospital leaders can use to help protect hospital staff.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 09/2019
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Rural Hospital Closures Reduce Access to Emergency Care
Recognizes the importance of hospital and emergency care services in providing healthcare in rural communities, and discusses the current hospital closure rate. Uses federal data to compare the financial viability of rural and urban hospitals, and the availability of emergency care in rural communities. Suggests policy recommendations for improving access to healthcare and emergency care for rural populations.
Author(s): Tarun Ramesh, Emily Gee
Date: 09/2019
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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Dismantling Buprenorphine Policy Can Provide More Comprehensive Addiction Treatment
Commentary focused on the impact buprenorphine prescribing policy has on access to opioid addiction treatment. Discusses the lack of providers waivered to prescribe buprenorphine in rural areas. Includes a map showing counties that lack providers who can prescribe medications for opioid use disorder.
Author(s): Alex E. Woodruff, Mary Tomanovich, Leo Beletsky, et al.
Date: 09/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Academy of Medicine
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Maternal Mortality in the United States
Provides an overview of maternal mortality in the United States. Discusses the increase in maternal mortality rates and factors that contribute to maternal deaths. Includes information specific to rural maternal mortality. Identifies policy solutions, including state maternal mortality review committees, and highlights efforts in California and North Carolina to address maternal mortality.
Author(s): Tara O'Neill Hayes, Carly McNeil
Date: 09/2019
Sponsoring organization: American Action Forum
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Family Medicine Rural Training Track Residencies: Risks and Resilience
Results of a study to understand threats to rural training track (RTT) program sustainability and resilience factors that help RTTs to thrive.
Author(s): Davis G. Patterson, David Schmitz, Randall L. Longenecker
Citation: Family Medicine, 51(8), 649-656
Date: 09/2019
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Contextual Factors Associated With County-Level Suicide Rates in the United States, 1999 to 2016
Explores a study of the demographic variables associated with suicides, such as age, sex, and social capital. Details how the variables and rates vary based on rural or urban status.
Author(s): Danielle L. Steelesmith, Cynthia A. Fontanella, John V. Campo, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 2(9)
Date: 09/2019
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Characteristics of Inpatient Hospital Stays Involving Sickle Cell Disease, 2000–2016
Examines inpatient stays among patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), with trends by patient age from 2000-2016. Also reports on characteristics of inpatient stays in 2016, including data on the location of patient residence for metropolitan, rural metro-adjacent, and rural remote areas. Includes data by patient location for Black patients with SCD-related stays compared to Black U.S. residents as a whole. Also reports on SCD-related stays by hospital location for metropolitan, rural metro-adjacent, and rural remote areas.
Author(s): Kathryn R. Fingar, Pamela L. Owens, Lawrence D. Reid, et al.
Date: 09/2019
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Improving Access to Maternal Health Care in Rural Communities
Highlights the issues affecting access to healthcare for women in rural communities before, during, and after pregnancy. Demonstrates the need for national, state, and community organizations to work together to develop a plan to improve access to care and the outcomes for rural women and their babies.
Date: 09/2019
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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