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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Illicit drug use

Whole-Person Care for People Experiencing Homelessness and Opioid Use Disorder: A Toolkit
Provides information on whole-person care for housing stability and opioid use disorder (OUD), offering an overview of factors impacting homelessness and OUD, recovery models, and best practices to reduce stigma and develop trauma-informed care.
Additional links: Webinar: Whole-Person Care for People Experiencing Homelessness and Opioid Use Disorder
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Homeless and Housing Resource Center, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Barriers for Implementing the Hub and Spoke Model to Expand Medication for Opioid Use Disorder: A Case Study of Montana
Highlights a study of the barriers to the implementation of hub and spoke programs to provide treatment for opioid use disorder in rural Montana. Features data based on interviews with 65 programs that provide medication for opioid use disorder in Montana and discusses the barriers to their efforts.
Author(s): Brandn Green, Danielle Christine Rhubart, Matthew R Filteau
Citation: Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, 15
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
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Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Innovations in Native American Communities
Report highlights the efforts of tribal programs to address opioid use disorder in their communities. Presents success stories of programs providing culturally competent treatment, prevention, and recovery for American Indian and Alaska Native communities in several states.
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National American Indian and Alaska Native Addiction Technology Transfer Center
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Mobile Telemedicine for Buprenorphine Treatment in Rural Populations With Opioid Use Disorder
Results of a study conducted from June-October 2020 in Caroline County, Maryland, to evaluate the implementation of an initiative to extend access to telemedicine (TM) medications for opioid use disorder to rural communities, by bringing care via a TM mobile treatment unit (TM-MTU). Features demographics and statistics on opioid use during TM-MTU treatment.
Author(s): Eric Weintraub, Chamindi Seneviratne, Jessica Anane, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 4(8)
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
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Emergence of Wasp Dope in Rural Appalachian Kentucky
Surveyed 278 Appalachian Kentucky adult residents between February 2018 and April 2019 that had used opioids or injected drugs in the previous 30 days about their use of "wasp dope," a drug made from insecticides. Discusses factors associated with wasp dope use. Includes break down of study participants by level of rurality.
Author(s): April M. Young, Melvin Livingston, Rachel Vickers-Smith, Hannah L.F. Cooper
Citation: Addiction, 116(7), 1901-1907
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
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Innovations in Overdose Response: Strategies Implemented by Emergency Medical Services Providers
Reports on the findings of an environmental scan conducted in collaboration with the National Association of EMS Officials looking for new and promising overdose response strategies for state and local EMS providers to increase access to treatment and recovery services. Discusses sharing data for public health surveillance and response, building system-wide partnerships, administering buprenorphine, developing post-overdose response teams, utilizing mobile integrated health clinics, and implementation barriers to be considered.
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Trends in Drug Overdose Mortality Rates in Kentucky, 2019-2020
Evaluates the changes in drug overdose mortality rates for Kentucky residents, using provisional 2020 death certificate data from the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics. Features statistics on Kentucky drug overdose deaths by month from 2011-2020, and Kentucky drug overdose mortality rates and rate ratios by demographic group from 2019-2020, with breakdowns by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan residence.
Author(s): Svetla Slavova, Dana Quesinberry, Sarah Hargrove, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 4(7)
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
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Opioid Treatment Programs: A Key Treatment System Component
Issue brief examining state and federal-level policies related to opioid treatment programs (OTPs). Offers policy recommendations to increase access to opioid treatment in rural communities and other hard-to-reach settings.
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pew Charitable Trusts
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The Co-Occurrence of HIV and Opioid Mortality in Rural and Urban America from 1999-2018
Policy brief evaluating trends in mortality from Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and opioid use in rural and urban areas, using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiology Research (WONDER) mortality database. Features statistics on mortality by sex, race or ethnicity, and census region, with breakdowns by 6 levels of population density.
Author(s): Timothy Callaghan, Kristen Primm, Marvellous Akinlotan, et al.
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
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In New Mexico, Pathways Care Coordination Supports People With Opioid Use Disorder
Describes the efforts of the rural New Mexico-based Rio Arriba Health and Human Services to treat individuals with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) through an outcomes-based chronic disease care coordination model. Discusses challenges of treating OUD in a rural frontier county, including limited transportation, housing concerns, and involvement in the criminal justice system.
Author(s): Beth Connolly, Leslie Paulson
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pew Charitable Trusts
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