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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Population health

Effective Community-Based Initiatives Are Needed to Curb the Opioid Crisis
Describes 6 community-research collaboratives to address the opioid crisis at the local level, including programs in St. Louis, MO, Olympia, WA, Ithaca, NY, and rural programs in Rio Arriba County, NM, western North Carolina, and tribal communities in the Midwest and the Northern Plains.
Author(s): Beth Connolly, Leslie Paulson
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Pew
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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
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Special Needs in Rural America: Implications for Healthcare Workforce Education, Training, and Practice
Offers policy recommendations to strengthen rural health workforce training and improve access to healthcare in rural areas. Addresses the health and social needs of rural America through evidence-based health workforce investments in education, training, and practice. Examines disparities in health and access to care in rural areas, and mismatch in supply and demand.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Council on Graduate Medical Education
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Spatial Barriers as Moral Failings: What Rural Distance Can Teach Us about Women's Health and Medical Mistrust
Explores the perceptions of rural women about their access to healthcare, including maternal care. Discusses some of the perceived barriers to healthcare access by rural women, such as spacial distance and mistrust of healthcare providers.
Author(s): Michele Statz, Kaylie Evers
Citation: Health and Place, 64, 102396
Date: 07/2020
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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
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Individual Market Volatility and Vulnerability, 2015 to 2019
Study examining health insurance options and premium prices from 2015-2019, including rural/urban differences. Provides data and statistics on market volatility and vulnerability, with information broken down by population, race, health status, number of hospital beds, and more.
Author(s): Jean Marie Abraham
Citation: RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 6(2): 206–22
Date: 07/2020
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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
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CDC COVID-19 Response Health Equity Strategy: Accelerating Progress Towards Reducing COVID-19 Disparities and Achieving Health Equity
Provides an overview of the CDC strategy to improve health outcomes for populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19, including people living in rural and frontier areas, racial and ethnic minorities, and other populations. Describes four priorities: expanding the evidence base; addressing testing, contact tracing, isolation, healthcare, and recovery; supporting essential and frontline workers to prevent transmission of COVID-19; and developing an inclusive workforce to address the diverse U.S. population.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Rural Matters - Coronavirus and the Navajo Nation
Presents a first-hand account of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Navajo Nation. Discusses the social and environmental factors that contribute to the spread of the virus.
Author(s): Heather Kovich
Citation: New England Journal of Medicine, 383, 105-107
Date: 07/2020
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Health Care Access for Infants and Toddlers in Rural Areas
Research brief describing how rural children are more likely to face a unique combination of challenges that negatively impact their health and development, such as fewer healthcare providers, barriers to accessing care, and higher rates of poverty. Includes rural/urban comparisons for each state, with information on the percentage of infants and toddlers lacking health insurance, receiving recommended vaccinations, attending a preventive medical appointment, and more.
Author(s): Jessie Laurore, Gayane Baziyants, Sarah Daily
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Child Trends
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