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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Population health

VA Versus Non-VA Quality of Care: A Systematic Review
Presents a review of healthcare quality for veterans in VA and non-VA settings. Analyzes 42 studies of non-surgical care and 19 studies of surgical care. Highlights studies focusing on rural veterans and details rural veterans' reported satisfaction with the care they received.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Paul Shekelle, Melinda Maggard-Gibbons, Mariah Blegen, et al.
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
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School Meals and Other Child Nutrition Programs: Background and Funding
Provides an overview of federal child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), among others. Includes information on reimbursement rates for rural SFSP meal sites, as well as brief mentions of rural and tribal demonstration programs.
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Primary Care Providers Experiences Implementing Low-Dose Computed Tomography Recommendations for Lung Cancer Screening
Identifies factors affecting implementation of lung cancer screening programs in rural areas as discussed in interviews with 15 primary care providers practicing in rural Oregon. Factors discussed include clinic workflows, communication practices, patient access to screening, costs, share decision-making, and clinic screening "champions."
Author(s): Sara E. Golden, Jessica J. Currier, NithyaPriya Ramalingam, et al.
Citation: The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 36(6), 952-965
Date: 11/2023
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Safe Driving in Tribal Communities: What can Tribal Governments and Health Professionals Do?
Fact sheet on strategies and policies tribal governments and health professionals can adopt to reduce motor vehicle crash injuries and deaths in tribal communities. Discusses seat belts, teen drivers, car seats, alcohol-impaired driving, and more.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Follicular DNA Damage and Pesticide Exposure Among Latinx Children in Rural and Urban Communities
Examines DNA double-strand breaks as an aspect of pesticide exposure among 30 Latinx children from rural, farmworker families and 15 children from urban, non-farmworker families in North Carolina, utilizing a minimally-invasive data collection method utilizing hair follicle samples and silicon wristbands. Provides data on rural-urban disparities in pesticide exposure, outside play, and use of sun protection among study participants, with additional data on seasonal variation.
Author(s): Cassandra Lepetit, Mohamed Gaber, Ke Zhou, et al.
Citation: Exposure and Health, 16, 1039-1052
Date: 11/2023
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2023 March of Dimes Report Card: The State of Maternal and Infant Health for American Families
Provides information on U.S. and state-level maternal and infant health outcomes. Considers issues such as preterm birth, infant mortality rate, access to health care, policy efforts, social determinants of health, and more. Includes county-level grades of maternal vulnerability.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: March of Dimes
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The Role of Department of Veterans Affairs Community-Based Outpatient Clinics in Enhancing Rural Access to Geriatrics Telemedicine Specialty Care
Presents a study on the barriers and facilitators for using geriatric telemedicine through community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) to provide specialty care to older rural veterans. Bases finding on interviews with clinicians and staff from 13 rural CBOCs and makes recommendations.
Author(s): Camilla B. Pimentel, Eileen M. Dryden, Kathryn A. Nearing, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 72(2), 520-528
Date: 11/2023
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Rural Adults' Perceptions of Nutrition Recommendations for Cancer Prevention: Contradictory and Conflicting Messages
Explores perceptions of web-based nutrition recommendations for colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention, utilizing interview data from 48 rural men and women aged 50 to 73 who participated in a CRC prevention intervention. Identifies challenges related to contradictory recommendations, cultural and dietary preferences, and information gaps. Includes discussion of factors promoting CRC screening.
Author(s): Melissa J. Vilaro, Emma Bryan, Te Palani, et al.
Citation: Preventive Oncology and Epidemiology, 1, 2237680
Date: 11/2023
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The Value Chains Linking Together Rural Food Access
A recorded webinar that discusses innovative ways to improve food security in rural areas by linking services and organizations working toward a similar goal. Includes case studies from housing and healthcare collaborators who designed a mobile grocery store as well as an agricultural/environmental nonprofit who collaborated with local farmers and healthcare providers to create a produce prescription (PRx) program. Transcript available below description.
Additional links: Slide Deck
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
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Indigenous Voices Against Suicide: A Meta-Synthesis Advancing Prevention Strategies
Analyzes research on suicide prevention for Indigenous populations in the U.S. Highlights Indigenous voices in the research and selects for a number of programmatic themes, such as integration of culture as prevention, support preferences, and challenges to prevention, among others.
Author(s): Meenakshi Richardson
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(22), 7064
Date: 11/2023
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