This website is being reviewed for updates. Some information is offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Healthy North Carolina 2030: A Path Toward Health
Discusses population health in North Carolina, identifying disparities in health outcomes and social determinants of health and highlighting strategies for improvement. Provides data for selected indicators, including unemployment, access to healthy food, and primary care workforce availability, among others. Mentions people in rural areas throughout.
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Institute of Medicine
view details
Seeds of Native Health Final Report: 2020
Provides an overview of Seeds of Native Health activities, such as policy efforts, grant-making projects, grassroots organizations, investments, research, and more.
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Seeds of Native Health
view details
Assessing the Needs of Front-Line Providers in Addressing the Opioid Crisis in South Carolina
Study of treatment needs for opioid use disorder (OUD) patients and staff capacity in South Carolina. Data reflects a needs assessment from 33 rural and urban agencies covering buprenorphine-waivered provider staffing, access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT), prevalence of OUD, referrals to other facilities, and barriers to providing MAT. Discusses policy and provider solutions to these issues.
Author(s): Angela Moreland, Jenna McCauley, Kelly Barth, et al.
Citation: Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 108, 4-8
Date: 01/2020
view details
Vermont Rural Health Task Force Workforce Subcommittee Report
Provides an overview of the state of the healthcare workforce in Vermont. Describes actions taken to date by providers, the government, and non-profit organizations to combat workforce challenges in the state. Offers additional policy solutions to meet the healthcare workforce demand in Vermont.
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Rural Health Services Task Force, State of Vermont: Green Mountain Care Board
view details
The Healthy Hawai'i Initiative: Insights from Two Decades of Building a Culture of Health in a Multicultural State
Provides an overview of the Healthy Hawai'i Initiative (HHI), a statewide public health program founded in 2000 to promote health and wellness through policy change and social ecological efforts. Analyzes information from interviews with individuals involved with HHI. Discusses coalitions that brought together community leaders, grassroots organizations, and rural communities.
Author(s): Joy Agner, Catherine M. Pirkle, Lola Irvin, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 20(1), 141
Date: 01/2020
view details
Many Rural Americans Are Still "Left Behind"
An overview of trends in rural poverty from 1959 through 2016. Discusses how rural and urban poverty are different. Highlights changes in education and employment and data on rural child poverty.
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: University of Wisconsin–Madison Institute for Research on Poverty
view details
Water Infrastructure: Technical Assistance and Climate Resilience Planning Could Help Utilities Prepare for Potential Climate Change Impacts
Examines federal technical and financial assistance to drinking and wastewater utilities for enhancing climate resilience. Discusses the needs of small and rural communities and identifies federal resources targeted to these areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Addressing Factors that Affect Health Care Costs: Recommendations for Indiana Stakeholders
Highlights the factors affecting healthcare costs in Indiana and makes recommendations to healthcare stakeholders, such as providers, policymakers, and consumers. Presents 16 factors that contribute to healthcare costs and discusses rural hospital closures.
Author(s): Nir Menachemi, Paul Halverson
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Policy, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
view details
Bringing it All Together for EMS in Wright County, Iowa
Video details how Wright County, Iowa, used supplemental Flex funding to solidify their emergency medical services (EMS). Highlights the way the county used the supplement funding to initiate a project to design a sustainable EMS program that provides coverage to the whole county.
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
view details
A Public Health Emergency: State Efforts to Curb the Opioid Crisis
Presents the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the outcomes of public health efforts to combat the opioid crisis. Features testimony from representatives of the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, and the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: House Committee on Energy and Commerce
view details