Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Population health

Indian Health Service: Agency Faces Ongoing Challenges Filling Provider Vacancies
Reports on the Indian Health Service's (IHS) progress in filling provider vacancies. Discusses the strategies used to attract providers and highlights their strengths and shortcomings. Compares vacancy rates by IHS area.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
The HPV Vaccine: Access and Use in the U.S.
Fact sheet discussing HPV and related cancers, HPV vaccines, insurance coverage, and access. Includes statistics from 2011-2015 showing racial and ethnic disparities in cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates, and vaccination coverage as of 2016 among female adolescents with breakdowns by urban or rural status and by state.
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
view details
Increasing Colorectal Cancer Screening in Health Care Systems Using Evidence-Based Interventions
Evaluation results for the first program year of the Colorectal Cancer Control Program, a CDC-funded initiative intended to increase screening by primary care and gastroenterological providers among medically underserved populations. Features statistics on participating primary care clinics and screening-eligible patient population counts, with breakdowns by metro, urban, and rural locations.
Author(s): Amy DeGroff, Krishna Sharma, Anamika Satsangi, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 15
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
view details
Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis–Attributable Years of Potential Life Lost to Life Expectancy and Potential Life Lost Before Age 65 Years — United States, 1999–2016
Examines trends in premature mortality attributed to coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP), a preventable occupational lung disease caused by inhaling coal mine dust, based on an analysis of underlying causes of death data from 1999 to 2016.
Author(s): Jacek M. Mazurek, John Wood, David J. Blackley, David N. Weissman
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 67(30), 819-824
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
view details
Non-Medical Opioid Use among Rural and Urban Pregnant Women, 2007-2014
Examines data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2007 to 2014 to determine differences in non-medical opioid use among rural and urban pregnant women. Covers policy and practice implications to inform program and clinical efforts to address the crisis.
Author(s): Katy Kozhimannil, Carrie Henning-Smith, Tongtan Chantarat, Tongtan Chantarat, Cresta Jones
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details
Assessing Effectiveness and Cost-Benefit of the Trinity Hospital Twin City Fit for Life Program for Weight Loss and Diabetes Prevention in a Rural Midwestern Town
Reports on Fit For Life (FFL), a health education program that works to address the causes of obesity in rural settings and helps program participants lose weight. Highlights discussion on assessing effectiveness, replication, and cost-effectiveness of lifestyle interventions in a rural Appalachian Ohio county. Covers lessons learned and practice implications.
Author(s): Timothy McKnight, Jennifer R. Demuth, Natalie Wilson, Jonathon P. Leider, Alana Knudson
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 15
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
view details
Gender Differences in Social Isolation and Social Support among Rural Residents
Examines gender differences in social isolation and supports among aging rural residents. Includes statistics on perceived loneliness, social support, and social participation by gender. Offers suggestions to reduce social isolation and improve associated health outcomes in rural communities.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Alexandra Ecklund, Ira Moscovice, Katy Kozhimannil
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details
Entertainment-Education Videos as a Persuasive Tool in the Substance Use Prevention Intervention "keepin' it REAL"
Examines the effects of engagement by adolescents receiving a substance use prevention curriculum offering entertainment-education videos on alcohol use by youth and communication skills to refuse drug offers. Seventh grade students from two rural public schools were assigned to two versions of the keepin' it REAL prevention curriculum – one rural based and one urban based. Discusses the pre/post surveys taken by students at the beginning and the end of 7th grade.
Author(s): YoungJu Shin, Michelle Miller-Day, Michael L. Hecht, Janice L. Krieger
Citation: Health Communication, 33(7) 896-906
Date: 07/2018
Type: Document
view details
Sourcebook: Rural Health Outreach Grant Program, 2015-2018
Detailed descriptions of 60 initiatives funded under the Rural Health Care Services Grant Program in the 2015–2018 funding cycle. For each project, identifies the community served by the project, partners involved, services provided, challenges encountered, and project outcomes. Also provides contact information for each project.
Date: 07/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
view details
Beliefs About Behavioral Determinants of Obesity in Appalachia, 2011-2014
Examines responses from the Health Information National Trends Survey (2011-2014) to compare Appalachian and non-Appalachian individuals on body mass index, beliefs about obesity, and health behaviors. Provides survey respondents' sociodemographic information, including age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, annual household income, and rurality.
Author(s): Elise L. Rice, Minal Patel, Katrina J. Serrano, et al.
Citation: Public Health Reports, 133(4), 379-384
Date: 07/2018
Type: Document
view details