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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Infectious diseases

COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage, by Race and Ethnicity — National Immunization Survey Adult COVID Module, United States, December 2020–November 2021
Examines disparities in COVID-19 vaccination coverage by race and ethnicity among U.S. adults during December 2020–November 2021. Includes data by race/ethnicity for those living in metropolitan and nonmetro areas.
Author(s): Jennifer L. Kriss, Mei-Chuan Hung, Anup Srivastav, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 71(23), 757-763
Date: 06/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Ventilation Improvement Strategies Among K–12 Public Schools — The National School COVID-19 Prevention Study, United States, February 14–March 27, 2022
Examines different school-based strategies to improve ventilation, with the goal of reducing incidence of COVID-19. Includes data on implementation of each strategy by school location for city, suburb, town, and rural schools.
Author(s): Sanjana Pampati, Catherine N. Rasberry, Luke McConnell, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 71(23), 770-775
Date: 06/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Rural Oklahomans
Study examining COVID-19 vaccine perceptions and hesitancy among residents of rural Oklahoma counties based on an online questionnaire completed by 222 individuals. Offers demographic data and discusses perceived barriers to vaccination, including concerns about vaccine development and data, complications, and availability, as well as perceived benefits including prevention of COVID-19 infection and transmission.
Author(s): Randolph D. Hubach, Bryan Shannon, Kerry D. Morgan, et al.
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 22(2), 7128
Date: 06/2022
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COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, and Deaths Among American Indian or Alaska Native Persons — Alaska, 2020–2021
Examines COVID-19 health disparities impacting American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people in Alaska from March 12, 2020–December 31, 2021. Discusses challenges to accessing healthcare, including living in rural and remote location.
Author(s): Lowrie A. Ward, Kelsey P. Black, Carla L. Britton, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 71(22), 730-733
Date: 06/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Raising Rural Voices: Discovering Permanent Solutions to Improve Access
A recorded webinar that discusses the solutions to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic related to providing children with meals when schools were closed. Suggests strategies to create permanent infrastructure that supports food security for children in rural areas. Transcript available below description.
Additional links: Slide Deck
Author(s): Stacy Dean, Janet Barth, Tina Byrd, Anna Lusk
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
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Food Access and Food Delivery Service: An Exploratory Study for the Role of Public Transportation During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020-2021
Explores public transportation services that offered food delivery services before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports on surveys completed by 392 transit agencies in December 2020 and 63 transit agencies in June 2021 about their role related to increasing food access in their communities. Includes discussions about food insecurity in rural and tribal areas and mitigating transportation strategies.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Hamad Al Qublan, Jeremy Mattson, Jill Hough
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Small Urban and Rural Center on Mobility, Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
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Veteran Mobility and COVID-19
Examines veterans living in rural areas and how their mobility options, cost of transportation, use of telehealth, access to healthy food, and social isolation have been impacted by COVID-19. Discusses issues and policies related to improving healthcare transportation and access to Veterans Administration (VA) services for rural veterans. Includes data on veteran demographics and survey responses to health- and transportation-related questions.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Video Summary
Author(s): Del Peterson, Jill Hough, Antonio Molina
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organizations: North Dakota State University, Small Urban and Rural Center on Mobility, Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
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Rx for the Rural Healthcare Workforce and Access to Care
Podcast with Tom Morris of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy about trends related to the rural healthcare workforce and efforts to overcome challenges. Discusses the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, rural hospital closures, telehealth, graduate medical education in rural areas, community health workers and community paramedics, funding opportunities to promote healthcare access in rural areas, the opioid crisis, and more.
Author(s): Jessica Nicholson
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: The Conference Board
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Rural Youth Survey: Trends and Developments in the Attitudes and Aspirations of Rural Pennsylvania Youth
Results of a study conducted in the spring of 2021, to document the educational, career, and residential aspirations of rural Pennsylvania 9th and 11th grade students, to examine factors that shape aspirations, and to detail opportunities and barriers that youth experience. Notes that healthcare was the most common career field sought by students. Offers recommendation that additional mental health support be provided for rural youth as they return to in-person schooling after the COVID pandemic. Features demographics and statistics on career aspirations, with breakdowns by type of employment.
Author(s): Lacey Wallace, Sam Tanner, Freyca Calderon-Berumen, Lauren Jacobson
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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COVID-19 and Food Insecurity in the Blackfeet Tribal Community
Examines the occurrence of food insecurity on the Blackfeet reservation in rural Montana across a 4-month period during the COVID-19 pandemic. Includes survey data from 167 participants and discusses the public health implications of food insecurity and health disparities in indigenous populations.
Author(s): Neha A. John-Henderson, Benjamin J. Oosterhoff, Lester R. Johnson, et al.
Citation: Food Security, 14(5), 1337-1346
Date: 05/2022
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