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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Illicit drug use

Addressing Opioid Use Disorder among Rural Pregnant and Postpartum Women: A Study Protocol
Explores a study examining the rates of prenatal opioid use disorder and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome in rural areas. Study includes provider-level measurements such as patient retention, adoption of evidence-based practices, and attitude towards substance misuse, among others, and patient-level measurements such as substances used, co-occurring conditions, and birth outcomes, among others.
Author(s): M. Aryana Bryan, Marcela C. Smid, Melissa Cheng, et al.
Citation: Addiction Science and Clinical Practice, 15, 33
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
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The American Opioid Epidemic in Special Populations: Five Examples
Report on the disproportionate impacts of the opioid crisis on certain populations, including those involved with the criminal justice system, rural populations, veterans, young adults, and individuals who inject drugs. Offers statistical data for each group and discussion of opioid use disorder and mortality, barriers to treatment, promising strategies to address treatment issues, and research and policy priorities. Section on rural populations offers data on drug overdose deaths, rates of opioid prescription, and the association between economic distress and opioid-involved deaths.
Author(s): Carlos Blanco, Mir M. Ali, Aaron Beswick, et al.
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy of Medicine
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Health Equity Report 2019-2020: Special Feature on Housing and Health Inequalities
Provides an overview of the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) program efforts in reducing health disparities and promoting health equity for various populations at the national, state, and local levels. Chapter 10 addresses rural-urban health disparities, with a focus on rural housing inequities and the opioid epidemic, and describes Federal Office of Rural Health Policy programs.
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Increase in Drug Overdose Deaths Involving Cocaine: United States, 2009–2018
Reports on trends in drug overdose deaths involving cocaine, with data by sex, age group, race and Hispanic origin, and concurrent involvement of opioids. Includes cocaine overdose death rate data for 2018 for urban and rural areas by Census region.
Author(s): Holly Hedegaard, Merianne Rose Spencer, Matthew F. Garnett
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Willingness to Participate in At-Home HIV Testing Among Young Adults Who Use Opioids in Rural Appalachia
Explores a study on the willingness of people who use drugs to take at-home HIV tests in rural Appalachian Kentucky. Breaks down data by participant's age, gender, and syringe usage, among others.
Author(s): April M. Ballard, Regine Haardöerfer, Nadya Prood, et al.
Citation: AIDS and Behavior, 25, 699-708
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
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Building Capacity for Medication Assisted Treatment in Rural Primary Care Practices: The IT MATTTRs Practice Team Training
Evaluates IT MATTTRs, a training intervention for primary care practice (PCP) teams regarding medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. Compares in-person training to web-based training through Project ECHO. Discusses the implementation of the training program, participant satisfaction, and impact on participants' perceived ability to deliver MAT.
Author(s): Linda Zittleman, Kristen Curcija, Christin Sutter, et al.
Citation: Journal of Primary Care and Community Health, 11
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
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Tracking FY2019 Federal Funding to Combat the Opioid Crisis
Report covering the allocation of federal resources for opioid initiatives at the federal, state, and local level. Presents data on federal funding and offers case studies of state and county-level spending data for Ohio, Arizona, Louisiana, Washington, Tennessee, and New Hampshire. Makes policy recommendations and briefly discusses grant initiatives that target rural-specific barriers to treatment.
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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Rural Variation of Medicaid Expansion on Access to Naloxone
Poster examining the rate of naloxone prescriptions dispensed by retail pharmacies between 2011 and 2017. Compares the rate of naloxone prescriptions before and after Medicaid expansion and as the rural population increased.
Author(s): Yue Cheng, Minji Sohn, Patricia R. Freeman, Eugene Shin, Chris Delcher
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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Crisis Services: Meeting Needs, Saving Lives
Presents the National Guidelines for Behavioral Health Crisis Care Best Practices Toolkit and a number of companion papers on crisis care. Toolkit highlights best practices for crisis care and the papers discuss a number of related topics, including homelessness, substance use, opioid-related deaths, and rural and frontier areas, among other issues.
Date: 08/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Nonfatal Drug and Polydrug Overdoses Treated in Emergency Departments — 29 States, 2018–2019
Reports on changes in rates and proportions of suspected nonfatal drug and polydrug overdoses treated in the emergency department (ED) between 2018 and 2019, based on data from 29 states. Includes data for urban and rural counties on ED visits for opioids, cocaine, amphetamines, and benzodiazepines, as well as for opioids in combination with each of the other types of drugs.
Author(s): Stephen Liu, Lawrence Scholl, Brooke Hoots, Puja Seth
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 69(34), 1149-1155
Date: 08/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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