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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Population health

Task Force on Maternal Mental Health: National Strategy to Improve Maternal Mental Health Care
Offers 5 recommendations for improving maternal mental health and associated substance use disorders using a whole-government approach by building infrastructure to improve care. Recommendations discuss federal collaboration, accessibility of care, data gathering, prevention strategies, and engaging those with lived experience. Discusses rural throughout.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Using a Customer Discovery Process to Enhance the Potential Dissemination and Scalability of a Family Healthy Weight Program for Rural Communities and Small Towns
Reports on factors influencing rural adoption of the Building Healthy Families Online Training Resources and Program Package, a family-based healthy weight program. Utilizes data from interviews with 47 individuals representing potential users, payers, and adoption influencers, including health departments, clinical healthcare providers, and community organizations. Includes discussion of organizational priorities, implementation challenges in clinical and community settings, and more.
Author(s): Gwenndolyn C. Porter, Jennie L. Hill, Kate A. Heelan, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 21, 57
Date: 05/2024
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Navigating Geographical Disparities: Access to Obstetric Hospitals in Maternity Care Deserts and Across the United States
Examines disparities related to maternity care access by analyzing travel distances to obstetric care across the United States. Provides data to nearest obstetric hospital by census tract, with further breakdowns according to maternity care desert (MCD) designation, rurality, race/ethnicity, and travel time. Includes U.S. maps showing spatial clusters of distance and travel time to obstetric care.
Author(s): Jazmin Fontenot, Christina Brigance, Ripley Lucas, Ashley Stoneburner
Citation: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 24, 350
Date: 05/2024
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A Standard Framework for Evaluating Large Health Care Data and Related Resources
Identifies a set of actions, criteria, and tools that can be used in evaluating large healthcare data and related resources. Includes information on evaluating data coverage and representativeness, including the availability of information on rural or urban location.
Author(s): Suad El Burai Felix, Hussain Yusuf, Matthew Ritchey, et al.
Citation: MMWR Supplements, 73(Suppl. 3), 1-13
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Implementation Characteristics That May Promote Sustainability of a Rural Physical Activity Initiative: Examination of Play Streets Through the Lens of Community Implementers
Discusses implementation of Play Streets, a community-based initiative to create safe physical activity areas for children and families, from interviews with program team members in rural Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas. Highlights factors influencing program effectiveness and sustainability, including community engagement, partnerships, and more.
Author(s): Marilyn E. Wende, M. Renée Umstattd Meyer, Cynthia Perry, et al.
Citation: Implementation Science Communications, 5, 48
Date: 05/2024
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Health Wanted: Finding Care in Rural America
Series of videos highlighting challenges with access to quality healthcare for rural Americans. Discusses healthcare access in remote locations, food insecurity and cultural farming practices, transportation, wellness initiatives, and chronic health conditions in 5 states. Transcript available in video description.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: American Heart Association
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Increasing Telehealth Use during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and Healthcare Disparities: An Updated Systematic Review
Summarizes findings from a systematic review of literature published between December 2022 and July 5, 2023, regarding whether telehealth impacted healthcare access and disparities. Includes rurality as a demographic group assessed.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Rural Telehealth Research Center
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Preventable Premature Deaths from the Five Leading Causes of Death in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Counties, United States, 2010–2022
Analyzes National Vital Statistics System mortality data between 2010 and 2022 to find the 5 leading causes of preventable deaths for people less than 80 years old. Discusses trends across time in metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore regions and the impact of COVID-19 on the findings. Offers recommendations for future data analysis.
Author(s): Macarena C. García, Lauren M. Rossen, Kevin Matthews, et al.
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 73(2), 1-11
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Rural-Urban Disparities in the Availability of Hospital-Based Screening, Medications for Opioid Use Disorder, and Addiction Consult Services
Compares availability of opioid use disorder screening, medication, and addiction consult services in hospitals by level of rurality. Utilizes data from the 2021 American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey of Hospitals. Discusses access barriers to opioid use disorder services in rural areas.
Author(s): Berkeley Franz, Cory E. Cronin, Zoe Lindenfield, et al.
Citation: Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 160, 209280
Date: 05/2024
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The Paradox of High Greenness and Poor Health in Rural Central Appalachia
Examines the environmental, socioeconomic, and psychological/behavioral factors that result in poor health in rural central Appalachia despite the availability of green areas. Includes discussion about the factors that attenuate or overwhelm potential health benefits of greenness for Appalachian citizens.
Author(s): Jiaying Dong, Matthew H E M Browning, Aaron Reuben, et al.
Citation: Environmental Research, 248, 118400
Date: 05/2024
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