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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Populations

Use of Stay-at-Home Orders and Mask Mandates to Control COVID-19 Transmission — Blackfeet Tribal Reservation, Montana, June–December 2020
Reports on the impact of community mitigation resolutions passed and enforced by the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council on COVID-19 incidence in the Blackfeet Tribal Reservation. Mitigation measures included case investigation, contact tracing, a mandatory stay-at-home order, and required mask use in public.
Author(s): Caroline Q. Pratt, Anna N. Chard, Rosaula LaPine, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 70(14), 514-518
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Notes from the Field: COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing Program — Spirit Lake Tribe, North Dakota, September–November 2020
Reports on how the CDC helped the Spirit Lake Tribe build a tribally managed program to address increasing COVID-19 cases through comprehensive case investigations, case notification, contact tracing, contact testing, and contact management. Describes the work of Spirit Lake community members who served as investigators and contact tracers, providing advice about the need to isolate or quarantine. Discusses housing challenges that impacted isolation and quarantine efforts.
Author(s): James Matthias, Tracy Charboneau, Cheri Schaffer, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 70(14), 533-534
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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VA Health Care: Efforts Needed to Ensure Effective Use and Appropriate Staffing of Suicide Prevention Teams
Report evaluates the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA's) utilization of suicide prevention teams to prevent suicides among veterans. Evaluation makes recommendations for elevating benchmarks of the program and improving team staffing.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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The Opioid Epidemic: A Geography in Two Phases
Examines population and geographic data on 2 phases of the U.S. opioid epidemic. Examines the association between overdose deaths and chronic pain, physical disability rates, and economic hardship. Discusses the shift from overdose mortality associated with prescription opioids to illicit and synthetic opioids in the early 2010s, including in rural areas and the Northeastern U.S.
Additional links: Report Summary
Author(s): David A. McGranahan, Timothy S. Parker
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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COVID-19 in Rural America: Impact on Farms & Agricultural Workers
Fact sheet highlights the impact of COVID-19 on American farms, farmworkers, and rural areas broadly. Details information about protective equipment, housing, and unemployment benefits, among other factors.
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Farmworker Health
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Texas Primary Care Office Needs Assessment, 2021
Reports on healthcare disparities, communities with unmet healthcare needs, and barriers to primary, mental, and dental healthcare access in Texas. Includes data and discussion of healthcare workforce shortages and shortage designations, Texas Primary Care Office programs and services, state demographics, and more. Mentions rural throughout, with pages 37-41 discussing rural-specific health outcomes and service availability challenges in depth.
Date: 03/2021
Sponsoring organizations: Texas Health and Human Services, Texas Primary Care Office
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Virtual Care Expansion in the Veterans Health Administration during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Clinical Services and Patient Characteristics Associated with Utilization
Presents results of a study of virtual care use in the Veterans Health Administration during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports statistics for previous and current virtual care use, method of care delivery, and type of care. Compares demographic groups, including urban, rural, and highly rural veterans, and identifies factors associated with virtual care use.
Author(s): Jacqueline M. Ferguson, Josephine Jacobs, Maria Yefimova, et al
Citation: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 28(3), 453-462
Date: 03/2021
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Peer Support Intervention Improves Pain-Related Outcomes Among Rural Adults With Diabetes and Chronic Pain at 12-Month Follow-Up
Reports on a study of an Alabama community-based cognitive behavioral training intervention on pain self-efficacy, pain intensity, and pain-related functional limitations, targeted specifically to rural low-income African American adults with diabetes. Features demographics and statistics on changes in control-intervention differences from baseline to 3-month and 12-month follow-up.
Author(s): Yulia Khodneva, Joshua Richman, Susan Andreae, Andrea Cherrington, Monika M. Safford
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(2), 394-405
Date: 03/2021
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Coordination of Veterans Services in Pennsylvania: A Task Force and Advisory Committee Report
Describes networks of services available to Pennsylvania veterans, examines how accessible these services are, and offers recommendations for improvement to ensure that veterans get the assistance and care to which they are entitled. Includes a section on rural veterans and the challenges they face in accessing healthcare.
Author(s): Frank M. Lill, Glenn J. Pasewicz, Grant Rosul, Wendy L. Baker
Date: 03/2021
Sponsoring organization: Joint State Government Commission, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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Measuring Neighborhood Deprivation for Childhood Health and Development: Scale Implications in Rural and Urban Context
Examines administrative neighborhood definitions such as census tract, block group, and school district as well as egocentric GIS neighborhood definitions in relationship to socioeconomic deprivation and their impact on childhood health and development. Utilizes the Family Life Project sample of families in North Carolina and Pennsylvania to evaluate neighborhood deprivation along the urban-rural continuum.
Author(s): Alexandra Ursache, Seann Regan, Allison De Marco, Dustin T. Duncan
Citation: Geospatial Health, 16(1)
Date: 03/2021
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