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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Assessing the Effectiveness of Policies to Improve Access to Primary Care for Underserved Populations: A Case Study Analysis of Columbia County, Arkansas
Case study of policy initiatives to increase access to primary care, focusing on Columbia County, Arkansas. Discusses workforce shortages, a lack of training opportunities, issues of healthcare access and poverty, mitigating policies, and more.
Author(s): Maanasa Kona, Megan Houston, Jalisa Cark, Emma Walsh-Alker
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Nebraska's Eligibility Decision
Details the benefits and eligibility requirements of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Offers statistics and demographics on households participating in Nebraska's SNAP. Highlights the effect inflation and the higher cost of food has on low-income populations. Makes recommendations for policymakers to consider when evaluating eligibility limits that affect the availability of food and safeguard against hunger for low-income households.
Author(s): Derrik Conard
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Affairs
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Examining Rural Telehealth During the Public Health Emergency
Examines the use of telehealth visits for rural and urban fee-for-service Medicare enrollees between January 2018 and June 2021. Compares telehealth utilization before the COVID-19 pandemic (2018-2019) with telehealth utilization from January 2020 to June 2021. Describes the demographic, geographical, and technological characteristics of telehealth services that were associated with increased telehealth use. Explores the extent to which the increased implementation and utilization of telehealth during the PHE impacted the cost of patient care and provider utilization.
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare
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Telerehabilitation Has Potential, but More Research, Funding, and Advocacy Are Needed
Reviews existing evidence on the use of telerehabilitation in the delivery of rehabilitation services, including physical therapy. Identifies barriers to the effective implementation of telerehabilitation and suggests potential areas that professional advocacy and policy can address to improve access to telerehabilitation services.
Author(s): Elizabeth Cornforth
Citation: Health Affairs Forefront
Date: 01/2023
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HUD Rural Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing (RCB) Program
Provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Rural Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing program (RCB). Outlines the program structure and administration, eligibility for primary grantees and their activities, and fiscal year 2019 and 2020 RCB award amounts.
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Full Practice Authority for Nurse Practitioners in Indiana: A White Paper
A policy paper focused on nurse practitioner (NP) scope of practice in Indiana. Discusses requirements to become an NP, places in the U.S. that allow full practice NPs, and recommendations related to scope of practice and the impact on rural and underserved areas.
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: Indiana Rural Health Association
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Communities, Climate Change, and Health Equity: Lessons Learned in Addressing Inequities in Heat-Related Climate Change Impacts: Proceedings of a Workshop-in Brief
Summary of a National Academies' Environmental Health Matters Initiative workshop in June 2023 discussing health equity for heat-related climate change. Highlights challenges with data gathering, recent policy changes, capacity building, and partnerships. Includes discussion of rural specific challenges, occupational health for farmworkers and other outdoor workers, and healthcare access.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Closing the Opportunity Gap for Young Children
Discusses the factors that cause inequities and limited access to resources for young children, such as poverty, food insecurity, abuse and violence, lack of social and emotional safety, inadequate healthcare and schooling, and more. Discusses policy and practices aimed at reducing opportunity gaps, with a focus on historically disadvantaged populations, including those in rural areas.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Intergenerational Poverty and Mobility Among Native Americans in the United States: Proceedings of a Workshop
Report aims to identify programs and policies to reduce intergenerational poverty among Native Americans. Discusses the structural and historical factors that contribute to intergenerational poverty and explores promising interventions for addressing those factors.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Children, Youth, and Families
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Future Planning for the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Enterprise: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Proceedings of a Workshop
Summarizes discussions held during a May 2022 workshop to explore the nation's public health emergency (PHE) preparedness enterprise. Includes key components, success stories, and failure points, to identify opportunities for effective catastrophic disaster, pandemic, and other large scale PHEs planning at the federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial levels. Mentions disparities between urban and rural or tribal areas throughout.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Disasters and Emergencies
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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