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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare needs and services

Despair as a Cause of Death: More Complex Than It First Appears
Describes studies showing urban-rural and racial/ethnic comparisons of premature deaths due to self-destructive behaviors and possible underlying social and economic factors in the communities.
Author(s): Ana V. Diez Roux
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 107(10), 1566-1567
Date: 10/2017
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The Epidemic of Despair Among White Americans: Trends in the Leading Causes of Premature Death, 1999–2015
Evaluates trends in cause-specific death rates for adults ages 25-64, from 1999-2001 and 2013-2015. Features statistics including cause of death, age, race, and urbanization level in the United States, with breakdowns by large urban, suburban, small/medium metropolitan, and rural areas.
Author(s): Elizabeth M. Stein, Keith P. Gennuso, Donna C. Ugboaja, Patrick L. Remington
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 107(10), 1541-1547
Date: 10/2017
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Despair in the American Heartland? A Focus on Rural Health
Describes 4 research articles and accompanying editorials, examining problems associated with the current state of health among rural populations.
Author(s): Paul Campbell Erwin
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 107(10), 1533-1534
Date: 10/2017
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Minnesota: Filling the Mental Health Pipeline
Discusses the mental health workforce in Minnesota including the educational pipeline, the licensed and unlicensed workforce, regional issues related to recruitment, and policy implications. Includes data about degrees completed, licenses gained after graduation, and population-to-provider ratios of the mental health workforce in Minnesota by rural or isolated, small town or small rural, micropolitan or large rural, and metropolitan.
Author(s): Alessia Leibert, Teri Fritsma
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
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Access To Obstetric Services In Rural Counties Still Declining, With 9 Percent Losing Services, 2004-14
Results of a study identifying gaps in the availability of hospital-based obstetric services in rural America, and providing evidence of disparities in local access to obstetric services in vulnerable rural communities. Includes statistics on percentages of rural counties by status of hospital obstetric services from 2004–14, with breakdowns by micropolitan or noncore location, and a county-level map with shadings indicating full closure, continuous services, or no services.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Carrie E. Henning-Smith, Michelle M. Casey, Katy B. Kozhimannil
Citation: Health Affairs, 36(9), 1663-1671
Date: 09/2017
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Promising Practice: Rural Health Summits Bringing People Together Across Vermont to Exchange Ideas
Describes how the Vermont State Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (VT SORH/PC) and leaders from rural hospitals and local public health districts in Vermont co-convened several Rural Health Summits held around the state to discuss ways to share resources, information, and identify opportunities for collaboration.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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Scaling up HCV Prevention and Treatment Interventions in Rural USA – Model Projections for Tackling an Increasing Epidemic
Highlights a study on the rise in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in rural people who inject drugs (PWID) and the necessary interventions to reduce HCV outbreaks in rural communities. Focuses on a rural county in Indiana and evaluates the medication-assisted treatment (MAT) efficacy, syringe-services program (SSP) efficacy, and the PWID population size of the intervention, among other factors.
Author(s): Hannah Fraser, Jon Zibbell, Thomas Hoerger, et al.
Citation: Addiction, 113(1), 173-182
Date: 09/2017
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Using Telehealth to Identify and Manage Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Conditions in Rural Areas
Reports on an environmental scan, discussions with providers and stakeholders, and site visits regarding how telehealth supports behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment. Addresses how telehealth is used, implementation, services offered, financing and sustainability. Focuses on the implications for treating opioid use disorders in rural areas, in particular, using medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with support from telehealth. Appendix B includes site briefs from the 9 states included in the study.
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Rural Veterans' Dental Utilization, BRFSS, 2014
Highlight study on the dental utilization rates for rural veterans. Explores whether the rural veterans are more likely to experience negative oral health outcomes, such as missing teeth. Breaks down data by age, educational attainment, and rural versus urban location, among other factors.
Author(s): R. Constance Wiener, Chan Shen, Usha Sambamoorthi, Patricia A. Findley
Citation: Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 77(4), 383-392
Date: 09/2017
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Medicare Inappropriately Paid Acute-Care Hospitals for Outpatient Services They Provided to Beneficiaries Who Were Inpatients of Other Facilities
Results of an audit to determine whether Medicare made payments appropriately to acute-care hospitals for outpatient services provided to other facilities' inpatients, from January 2013 through August 2016. Includes recommendations from the Office of Inspector General, and CMS's responses.
Additional links: Report in Brief
Author(s): Daniel R. Levinson
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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