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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare needs and services

SAMHSA Overdose Prevention and Response Toolkit
Provides strategies for healthcare providers, communities, and local governments to help prevent opioid-related overdoses and deaths. Includes facts for community members, essential steps for first responders, information for prescribers, safety advice for patients and family members, and resources for overdose survivors and their families.
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Evaluating National Program to Improve Access to Acute Stroke Services for Rural Veterans
Features a study on the Veterans Health Administration's efforts to improve access to acute stroke services for rural veteran populations. Discusses the National TeleStroke Program (NTSP) and it's impact on rural veterans.
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: VA Health Systems Research, Office of Research & Development
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Ray of Hope Behavioral Health Program: Cottage Hospital – Woodsville, NH
Describes Cottage Hospital, a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital, providing healthcare services to a large region of New Hampshire and Vermont, with an additional 10 beds for the Ray of Hope behavioral health program designed for older adults. Discusses the Ray of Hope program and covers impacts, lessons learned, and future goals of the program.
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Mental Health-related Physician Office Visits by Adults Aged 18 and Over: United States, 2012–2014
Examines adult mental health-related physician office visits by specialty and patient characteristics. Includes information on visits to psychiatrists, primary care physicians, and other physicians in large metropolitan, medium to small metropolitan, and rural areas.
Additional links: Questions for the Lead Author, NCHStats blog
Author(s): Donald Cherry, Michael Albert, Linda F. McCaig
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Prescribing Practices of Rural Physicians Waivered to Prescribe Buprenorphine
Highlights a study on the prescribing practices of rural physicians with buprenorphine waivers, which allowed them to provide medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid used disorder. Findings are based on surveys of all rural physicians with a Drug Enforcement Administration prescription waiver. Breaks down data by physician specialty, practice type, and waiver type, among other factors.
Author(s): Holly A. Andrilla, Cynthia Coulthard, Davis G. Patterson
Citation: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 54(6) S3, S208-S214
Date: 06/2018
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Activities and Situations When Young Adults Drive Drunk in Rural Montana
Examines the situations that lead to or promote driving under the influence of alcohol for young adults in 8 rural Montana counties, drawing from 11 focus group sessions with a total of 72 participants. Describes elevated fatality rates related to traffic crashes in rural areas and situation-specific decision factors contributing to driving under the influence. Discusses implications of data for community-wide interventions to reduce underage drinking and driving after or while drinking.
Author(s): Matthew E. Rossheim, Kaylin M. Greene, Caroline J. Stephenson
Citation: American Journal of Health Behavior, 42(3), 27-36
Date: 05/2018
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The Validation of a School-Based, Culturally Grounded Drug Prevention Curriculum for Rural Hawaiian Youth
Details a study of a school-based drug prevention curriculum designed to be relevant to rural Native Hawaiian youth. Bases findings on faculty interviews. Breaks down the data by participants' sex, age, and position within the school.
Author(s): Scott K. Okamoto, Susana Helm, Lindsey K. Ostrowski, Lucille Flood
Citation: Health Promotion Practice, 19(3), 369-376
Date: 05/2018
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A Statewide Program Providing Colorectal Cancer Screening to the Uninsured of South Carolina
Describes the implementation and clinical outcomes of the Colorectal Cancer Prevention Network (CCPN), a South Carolina statewide partnership providing no cost access to colonoscopy screening to uninsured populations seeking medical care at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), hospital-based indigent services, and other free medical clinics.
Author(s): Jan M. Eberth, Annie Thibault, Renay Caldwell, et al.
Citation: Cancer, 124(9), 1912-1920
Date: 05/2018
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Promising Practice: Summits Tackle Opioid Misuse and Treatment in Rural Illinois
Describes the Opioid Crisis Next Door summits, a series of conferences sponsored by the Illinois Center for Rural Health (ICRH) to increase the awareness of the opioid and heroin crisis in rural communities, and to identify ways for these communities to effectively respond to their misuse.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 05/2018
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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The Interaction Between Rural/Urban Status and Dual Use Status among Veterans with Heart Failure
Details a study on hospitalization and emergency department use by veterans with heart failure who use VA-only services or use a combination of VA and other healthcare services. Examines the role of urban and rural status in the veterans healthcare utilization rates.
Author(s): Kelly J Hunt, Mulugeta Gebregziahber, Charles J Everett, Paul A Heidenreich, Robert Neal
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 18(2), 4495
Date: 05/2018
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