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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Illicit drug use

Midwest Initiative Seeks to Reduce Opioid Use in Rural and Tribal Communities
Profile of the Midwest Tribal Opioid Meta-Evaluation (MTOM) and the American Indian Resource and Resiliency Team (AIRRT), an Opioid Use Disorder treatment partnership serving American Indian communities in Minnesota and the Northern Plains. Describes the process of conducting a meta-evaluation and the program's activities.
Author(s): Beth Connolly, Leslie Paulson
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pew Charitable Trusts
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Faith in Recovery Coalition Offers Hope for Opioid Use Disorder in Fayette County, Ohio
Highlights the Pathways to Recovery program, which works to address opioid use disorder in rural Ohio. Efforts include educating providers and law enforcement, overdose prevention, harm reduction, and recovery support from Peer Support Specialists.
Author(s): Kathryn Rutz
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Washington State Injury and Violence Prevention Guide
Examines the burden of seven of the most common types of unintentional and intentional injuries in rural and urban areas of the state of Washington. Includes injury data, risk and protective factors, and evidence-based or promising prevention strategies for each of the seven types.
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Washington State Department of Health
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Rurality is Associated with Increased Drive Times to Opioid Treatment Programs in Arizona
Research brief presenting data on drive times to reach opioid treatment programs and Federally Qualified Health Centers, comparing rural, small town, micropolitan, and metropolitan areas.
Author(s): Rachel Gildersleeve, Benjamin Brady, Bryna Koch, Doug Campos-Outcalt, Daniel Derksen
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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State and Community Efforts to Address Stimulant Use
Explores state and community-based efforts to address stimulant misuse. Summarizes common themes and key findings that emerged from discussions with a diverse group of stakeholders. Covers program activities, funding sources, facilitators, and barriers to implementing programs to respond to stimulant use. Identifies policy options for community, state, and federal stakeholders. Includes rural references throughout.
Author(s): Rebecca L. Haffajee, Sara Heins
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, RAND Corporation
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From the Front Lines: COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts in Rural Communities Hit by the Opioid Epidemic
Examines the COVID-19 response, including testing, contact tracing, and vaccination efforts, of HRSA Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) grantees. Discusses challenges related to vaccination efforts to reach rural individuals with substance use disorder/opioid use disorder and other rural residents.
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: JBS International, Inc.
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Pain in the Nation: Alcohol, Drug, and Suicide Epidemics - Special Feature: COVID-19 and Trauma
Explores the effect the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent trauma it has had on rates of suicide and alcohol- and drug-induced deaths across the nation. Breaks down data by a number of indicators, such as by age, race, and rural versus urban location.
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Trust for America's Health
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Medicare-Paid Naloxone: Trends in Non-Metropolitan and Metropolitan Areas Metropolitan Areas
Policy brief examining Medicare-paid naloxone dispensing, comparing rates in non-metro and metro areas nationwide. Provides year-by-year data by payer type for 2013-2018, including insurance, Medicaid, and Medicare Part D. Compares numbers of Medicare-paid naloxone prescriptions year-to-year for retail pharmacies, comparing rate changes for rural and metro areas.
Author(s): Chris Delcher, Yue Cheng, Minji Sohn, Jeffery C. Talbert, Patricia R. Freeman
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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Telemedicine Increases Access to Buprenorphine Initiation During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Discusses the expanded access to buprenorphine prescription through telemedicine during COVID-19, comparing the experiences of two harm reduction primary care programs in a rural and urban region of New York. Discusses reduced barriers to treatment, particularly delays due to in-person evaluation requirements before to the pandemic, and innovations to opioid use disorder treatment made possible through telehealth.
Author(s): Linda Wang, Jeffrey Weiss, Elizabeth Bogel Ryan, et al.
Citation: Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 124, 108272
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
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Understanding Declining Rates of Drug Overdose Mortality in Eastern Kentucky
Identifies potential policies and strategies that might have contributed to the decline in drug overdose mortality in the 5-year periods from 2008-2012 to 2013-2017 in 8 counties in eastern Kentucky. Offers recommendations for approaches that could be implemented in other communities. Includes statistics on overdose mortality in 8 eastern Kentucky counties; a county-level map showing changes in rates of overdose mortality in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Ohio; and a graph showing rates of overdose mortality in the Appalachian counties of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia from 1999-2019.
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health
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