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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Illicit drug use

Binge Drinking and Prescription Opioid Misuse in the U.S., 2012-2014
Explores the relationship between binge drinking and opioid misuse. Analyzes data from the 2012-2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and presents data by age, race, and rural versus urban status, among other measures.
Author(s): Marissa B. Esser, Gery P. Guy Jr., Kun Zhang, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
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Leveraging Medicaid Financing and Coverage Benefits to Deliver PrEP Intervention Services
Shows how stakeholders in Medicaid agencies, Medicaid managed care organizations, and public health departments can identify barriers to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication and clinical services, in an effort to prevent HIV. Includes a section on provision of PrEP through Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Centers, and through telehealth.
Author(s): Naomi Seiler
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: AcademyHealth
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Understanding the Public Health Consequences of Suspending a Rural Syringe Services Program: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of People Who Inject Drugs
Details a study on the public health outcomes associated with discontinuing syringe services programs (SSPs) in rural areas where people who inject drugs (PWIDs) are prevalent. Focuses on the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department in West Virginia.
Author(s): Sean T. Allen, Suzanne M. Grieb, Allison O'Rourke, et al.
Citation: Harm Reduction Journal, 16
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
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Briefing - Expanding the Role of Nurse Practitioners
Webinar recording and slides on expanding the role of nurse practitioners, focusing on models from Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico, and what California can learn from them. Includes information on nurse practitioners providing care in rural and frontier areas, as well as what they are doing to help combat the opioid epidemic.
Date: 05/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: California Health Care Foundation
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Opioids in Appalachia: The Role of Counties in Reversing a Regional Epidemic
Details the state of the opioid epidemic in Appalachia and presents recommendations to help county leaders respond to the opioid crisis. Features individual county case studies highlighting the challenges and strategies in addressing the opioid crisis.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Counties
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Spotlight on North Carolina: Best Practices and Next Steps in the Opioid Epidemic
Discusses the best practices for addressing the opioid epidemic in North Carolina. Details methods for increasing access to naloxone, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and non-opioid comprehensive pain care.
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: American Medical Association, Manatt Health, North Carolina Medical Society
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An Update on the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis: One Year Later
Report details a one year update to the Trump Administration President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. Highlighted the commission's accomplishments and examined its initial objectives. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: The White House
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Drug Overdose Deaths Involving Cocaine and Psychostimulants with Abuse Potential — United States, 2003–2017
Reports age-adjusted death rates in 2016 and 2017 for cocaine and psychostimulants, with information by age group, sex, race/ethnicity, urbanization level, U.S. Census region, and state. Includes data for metropolitan, micropolitan, and non-core counties. Provides national-level trend data for 2003-2017 on deaths related to these substances that also involved opioids and that did not involve opioids.
Author(s): Mbabazi Kariisa, Lawrence Scholl, Nana Wilson, Puja Seth, Brooke Hoots
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 68(17), 388-395
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Pain Management for People with Serious Illness in the Context of the Opioid Use Disorder Epidemic: Proceedings of a Workshop
Reports on a workshop with multiple stakeholders discussing pain management in the context of the opioid misuse epidemic. Reviews the opioid epidemic, how responses to it have affected people with serious illness and pain, the pain management needs of people with substance use disorder, policy responses, and next steps. Includes a few examples from rural areas and addresses some challenges specific to rural.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Rural‐Urban Trends in Opioid Overdose Discharges in Missouri Emergency Departments, 2012‐2016
Study of opioid overdose cases treated by Missouri emergency departments from 2012-2016 that compares rural and urban rates. Analyzes billing data from the state's Patient Abstract System (PAS), including population information and type of opiate involved in the overdose over the data period. Discusses the role of non-heroin opioids in overdose rates and implications of observed trends for emergency departments.
Author(s): Whitney Coffey, Andrew Hunter, Evan Mobley, Alana Vivolo-Kantor
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 36(2), 177-186
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
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