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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Arizona Opioid Action Plan Version 2.0, July 2019 - June 2021
Outlines the Arizona Department of Health Services' goals and recommendations for responding to the state's opioid-related public health emergency declaration. Intended to serve as an action plan and primary data source, containing information on opioid legislation, federal barriers, public education, youth prevention, medical education curriculum, and more. Includes rural-specific information and recommendations.
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Department of Health Services
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A Flexible Solution: How Critical Access Hospitals Reshaped Rural Health
Brief video overview describing how the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 created the Critical Access Hospital designation to reduce rural hospital closures. Discusses the role of the Senate Finance Committee and Federal Office of Rural Health Policy in developing the related policies, the transition of rural hospitals to critical access status, and the creation and impact of the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program).
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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E-Cigarette Minimum Legal Sale Age Laws and Traditional Cigarette Use among Rural Pregnant Teenagers
Uses 2010-2016 data from 32 states to explore how minimum legal sale age laws for e-cigarettes affects cigarette use among pregnant teenagers in rural areas. Provides data and statistics on smoking before and during pregnancy, underage teen births, and birth outcomes. Includes rural/urban comparisons.
Author(s): Michael Pesko, Janet Currie
Citation: Journal of Health Economics, 66, 71-90
Date: 07/2019
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Adverse Childhood Experiences of Urban and Rural Preschool Children in Poverty
Examines the interaction of race and geographic location on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) for preschool children living in poverty in Arkansas. Data was collected using the Family Map Inventory–Early Childhood (FMI-EC) tool of structured interviews and observation items for assessing family and home environment characteristics linked with children's well-being.
Author(s): Leanne Whiteside-Mansell, Lorraine McKelvey, Jennifer Saccente, James P. Selig
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(14), 2623
Date: 07/2019
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Rural Palliative Care
Policy position paper focused on rural palliative care. Discusses the value of palliative care and identifies rural considerations. Includes policy recommendations.
Author(s): Margaret Woeppel, Leslie Marsh, Tanya Sharp
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Wisconsin Divided Ten Ways: A Review of Rural-Urban Classification Systems
Provides a high-level overview of core classification systems, and systems that are county-based, census tract-based, ZIP code-based, and municipal-based. Includes county-level maps with shadings indicating levels of population density, based on various definitions of the terms urban and rural.
Additional links: Appendix A - Wisconsin County Classifications, Appendix B - Wisconsin Census Tract Classifications, Appendix C - Wisconsin ZIP Code Classification, Appendix D - Municipal Classifications
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Wisconsin Office of Rural Health
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Integrating Oral and General Health Through Health Literacy Practices: Proceedings of a Workshop
Summary of panel discussions held December 6, 2018 in Washington, D.C. by the Roundtable on Health Literacy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Topics include health literacy, care integration, interventions for children, and development of a research agenda. Chapter 6 includes a discussion of provision of oral health services in urban versus rural settings.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Trends in Clinical Research Including Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Participants Funded by the US National Institutes of Health, 1992 to 2018
Study in which data from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) system was used to find NIH-funded research focused on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations. Features statistics including dollar amounts allocated to research, and funding amounts provided to various projects and organizations, with breakdowns by select states plus the District of Columbia and Guam.
Author(s): Lan N. Doan, Yumie Takata, Kari-Lyn K. Sakuma
Citation: JAMA Network Open 2(7)
Date: 07/2019
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Immigrant Doctors Can Help Lower Physician Shortages in Rural America
Report highlighting physician shortages in rural areas and exploring pathways by which immigrants come to practice in those areas. Provides recommendations for state and federal policies that would better incorporate immigrant doctors into the effort to ease healthcare shortages in rural areas. Includes statistics on the number and percentage of International Medical Graduates who were resident physicians in the United States in 2017, with breakdowns by citizenship or visa status.
Author(s): Silva Mathema
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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Vibrant and Healthy Kids: Aligning Science, Practice, and Policy to Advance Health Equity
Outlines steps needed to help at-risk children in urban and rural areas avoid negative outcomes and to reduce health disparities. Features statistics related to various factors that impact children's health, development, and wellbeing.
Additional links: Read Online, Report Highlights, Report Recommendations, Roadmap to Apply the Science of Early Development
Author(s): Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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