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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare needs and services

Community Health Centers and Rural Health: Essential Access, Enduring Challenges
Discusses the role community health centers (CHCs) play in delivering primary care in rural areas. Describes the challenges rural CHCs face and strategies to stabilize and strengthen these facilities. Includes data on the rural CHC workforce and the percentage of all CHC patients served by a rural CHC by state. Compares healthcare quality, the percent of medical and mental health visits that were virtual, and the percent of patients with select chronic conditions by rural and urban location.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organizations: National Association of Community Health Centers, WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Any Mental Illness or Serious Thoughts of Suicide in the Past Year among Adults
Report using 2022-2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data to highlight adults experiencing mental illness or thoughts of suicide in the previous year. Appendix includes demographic and geographic characteristics of survey participants including 5 levels of urbanization by county.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Partnering for Progress: Enhancing Mental Health Crisis Response in Rural North Carolina Through Faith-based Training
Discusses strategies for rural communities to enhance mental health crisis response by partnering with and training local organizations. Explores several programs providing faith-based mental health training to rural clergy in North Carolina. Compares data for rural Rockingham County to the state as a whole.
Author(s): Sarah Grenon, Mallory Bejster, Marty Roberts, et al.
Citation: Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 19(3), 317-325
Date: 09/2025
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Colorectal Cancer Survival Disparities in Persistent Poverty Areas
Presents a study exploring the effect of living in a persistent poverty census tract on colorectal cancer (CRC) survival rates in both rural and urban locations. Breaks down data by demographic characteristics, treatment type, and tumor location, among other measures. Draws data from 2013-2019 cancer registry and 2013-2021 death records.
Author(s): Peter DelNero, Mario Schootman, Cheng Peng, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(3), e70045
Date: 09/2025
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Vermont Suicide Data Linkage Project: 2022-2023 Data Analysis
Identifies risk factors for suicide, populations at disproportionate risk for suicide, and patterns in how Vermonters who died by suicide interacted with various state, community systems, and services prior to death. Features statistics with breakdowns including suicides by rural or urban residence and suicides of rural veterans and elderly people.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Vermont Department of Health
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Opportunities and Barriers to Engaging Caregivers in Firearm Suicide Prevention: Findings from Focus Groups with Caregivers of Veterans
Examines barriers and facilitators of conversations related to lethal means safety (LMS) among family members and significant others (caregivers) who live with or provide support to veterans, veterans at risk of suicide, and healthcare providers. Identifies themes from discussions with 32 caregivers, including discussion of rural attitudes toward firearm ownership and safety.
Author(s): Katherine MacWilliams, John Marmion, Dee Blascyk, et al.
Citation: Injury Epidemiology, 12, 59
Date: 09/2025
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The South Carolina Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Workforce - 2022
Self-reported information about certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) actively employed as nurses in South Carolina, as part of the biennial license renewal process ending on April 30, 2022. Features demographics and statistics including change in the size of the South Carolina CRNA workforce from 2012-2022 with breakdowns by 3 levels of population density, and a county-level map showing locations of active CRNAs as of 2022, with shadings showing rural and urban counties.
Author(s): Cate Campbell, K. Gaul
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium
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Characteristics of Family Medicine Physician Associates/Assistants in the United States
Examines characteristics of physician associates/assistants (PAs) who work in family medicine (FM). Utilizes 2023 National Commission on Certification of PAs (NCCPA) data to analyze PAs in FM, PAs working outside of FM, PA demographics, urban versus rural employment setting, practice characteristics, and more.
Author(s): Bethany Grubb, Cynthia F. Griffith, Mirela Bruza-Augatis, Kasey Puckett, Andrzej Kozikowski
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 25, 1220
Date: 09/2025
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Creation of a Telehealth Addiction Consultation Service at a Rural Hospital: A Case Study
Details the implementation and evaluation of the Community Addiction Consult (CAC) service, which facilitated medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment and provided other supports for hospital-based addiction care via telehealth consultations by community, non-hospital clinicians in rural Massachusetts. Highlights the significance of the CAC model as a support for improving access to hospital-based substance use disorder treatment in rural areas.
Author(s): Rachel Katz, Tiarra Fisher, Talia Singer-Clark, et al.
Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 20, 76
Date: 09/2025
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Adverse Childhood Experiences and Preventive Health Care among Rural US Children: A Cross-Sectional Examination of 2022 National Health Interview Survey Data
Examines the relationship between preventive healthcare utilization and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Analyzes 2022 National Health Interview Survey data from 425 children residing in nonmetro locations according to physician visits, dental visits, vaccinations, and self-reported ACEs.
Author(s): Mary Labuhn, Andrew Williams
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(4), e70081
Date: 09/2025
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