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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Infectious diseases

Rural-Urban Mental Health Disparities in the United States During COVID-19
Explores rural and urban mental health access during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses the expanded use of telehealth, the lack of broadband access, and mental health provider shortages in rural areas.
Author(s): Nicole M. Summers-Gabr
Citation: Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 12(S1), S222-S224
Date: 08/2020
Type: Document
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Rural Health and COVID-19
Information to help hospital and health system emergency planners and state and local public health emergency planners understand the challenges rural communities face related to COVID-19. Addresses issues facing healthcare facilities and those related to at-risk residents. Includes proposed solutions and mitigation steps.
Date: 08/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
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Medicare's Mental Health Coverage: How COVID-19 Highlights Gaps and Opportunities for Improvement
Report explores Medicare beneficiaries' access to mental healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Breaks down data by beneficiary type, severity of illness, and rural versus urban location, among other measures. Highlights barriers to care and makes recommendations for the future.
Author(s): Beth McGinty
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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Integrating Responses to the Opioid Use Disorder and Infectious Disease Epidemics
Highlights the epidemic of infectious diseases co-occurring with opioid use disorder and the need for integrated treatment. Discusses barriers. such as workforce training, payment, and data sharing, among others. Includes suggestions for rural areas.
Author(s): Sandra A. Springer, Andrew P. Merluzzi, Carlos del Rio
Citation: JAMA, 324(1), 37-38
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
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Demographics, Comorbidities and Outcomes in Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients in Rural Southwest Georgia
Study of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in rural Southwest Georgia, including demographics, comorbidities, and mortality. Presents data for 522 patients and examines comorbidities including hypertension, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, asthma, diabetes, immunosuppression, and others.
Author(s): Priyank Shah, Jack Owens, James Franklin, et al.
Citation: Annals of Medicine, 52(7), 354-360
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Summary, July 30, 2020
Summarizes the 88th meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held virtually. Includes a discussion of the rural response to COVID-19.
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Key Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients: Profiles Based on Analysis of Private Healthcare Claims
Analyzes private health insurance claims to describe key characteristics of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between January-May 2020. Characteristics explored include age, gender, rural versus urban area by age, venue of care where first diagnosed, venue of care by age, comorbidities of hospitalized patients, and median costs of hospitalization.
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: FAIR Health
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Risk for Coccidioidomycosis among Hispanic Farm Workers, California, USA, 2018
Study of occupational risk factors for coccidioidomycosis (a pulmonary and systemic infection also known as Valley fever or San Joaquin Valley Fever) among Hispanic farmworkers in California. Describes the illness and analyzes data collected between June 2016 - August 2018 from patients who received serologic testing for coccidioidomycosis and questionnaire responses from 203 participants representing demographics, health history, and agricultural work history including dust exposure and work hours.
Author(s): Stephen A. McCurdy, Catherine Portillo-Silva, Carol L. Sipan, Heejung Bang, Kirt W. Emery
Citation: Emerging Infectious Diseases, 26(7), 1430-1437
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Pharmacist-Led Chronic Care Management for Medically Underserved Rural Populations in Florida During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Describes how ambulatory care pharmacists and student pharmacists are implementing telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide chronic care management to underserved, rural communities in Florida. Discusses implications for public health.
Author(s): Madison Como, Chenita White Carter, Margareth Larose-Pierre, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 17:200265
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
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Contact Tracing for Native Americans in Rural Arizona
Details the efforts to do COVID-19 contact tracing in Native American communities in rural Arizona. Discusses the role of a Critical Access Hospital in providing public health support in rural communities during the pandemic.
Author(s): Ryan M. Close, Myles J. Stone
Citation: New England Journal of Medicine, 383, e15
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
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