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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Populations

Providing Maternity Care in a Rural Northern Iowa Community
Describes how a rural Critical Access Hospital in Iowa has sustained its maternity care practice and offers suggestions for other rural hospitals and communities seeking to retain local access to pregnancy and childbirth services.
Author(s): Alexandria Kristensen-Cabrera, Julia D. Interrante, Carrie Henning-Smith, Katy Kozhimannil
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Medicaid and CHIP in Puerto Rico
Summarizes key requirements and design features of Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in Puerto Rico. Features statistics on program costs from fiscal years 2011-2019, with breakdowns by federal spending and Puerto Rico spending.
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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A Guide to Supporting Engagement and Resiliency in Rural Communities
Discusses strategies for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (Risk MAP) process in rural and tribal areas. Provides an overview of factors influencing rural and tribal communities' needs, perspectives, and ability to plan and implement emergency preparedness and response actions.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Federal Emergency Management Agency
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The Role of Transportation in Addressing Social Isolation in Older Adults
Summarizes the findings of a research project that included a literature review and interviews of experts to determine if a lack of transportation is associated with the probability of social isolation among older adults. Highlights common themes among three examples of transit programs, identifies funding sources for rural and urban organizations, and offers recommendations for additional research.
Additional links: Condensed Report
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Christina Worrall, Madelyn Klabunde, Yingling Fan
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility Technical Assistance Center, State Health Access Data Assistance Center, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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The Improved Health Outcomes Program (iHOP): A Unique Model to Promote Provider-Driven Research in a Medicaid Population
Describes the iHOP program, a grant-funded partnership between a Medicaid managed care insurer, the University of Louisville, and healthcare providers in Kentucky. The program operated from 2007-2018 and was designed to address the healthcare needs of Medicaid and uninsured populations across the state. Includes information on specific project initiatives, including those focused on special populations such as refugees, Latinos, and rural individuals.
Author(s): Tara J. Schapmire, Jill Bell, Mark. P. Pfeifer
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(14), 5079
Date: 07/2020
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Medicare's Mental Health Coverage: How COVID-19 Highlights Gaps and Opportunities for Improvement
Report explores Medicare beneficiaries' access to mental healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Breaks down data by beneficiary type, severity of illness, and rural versus urban location, among other measures. Highlights barriers to care and makes recommendations for the future.
Author(s): Beth McGinty
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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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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Challenges and Facilitators of Hospice Decision-making: A Retrospective Review of Family Caregivers of Home Hospice Patients in a Rural US-Mexico Border Region - A Qualitative Study
Highlights a study on hospice care utilization in the rural U.S.-Mexico border region of Southern California. Explores the decisions made by family care givers around hospice care and discusses the factors that shaped those decisions.
Author(s): Eunjeong Ko, Dahlia Fuentes, Savitri Singh-Carlson, Frances Nedjat-Haiem
Citation: BMJ Open, 10(7), e035634
Date: 07/2020
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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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Rural Interfacility Emergency Department Transfers: Framework and Qualitative Analysis
Examines the transfer for rural emergency patients to other facilities across 2 urban and 5 rural Veterans Health Administration facilities. Discusses 3 factors that influence the decision of transferring a patient: patient factors, system resources, and clinical and administrative processes.
Author(s): Candace D. McNaughton, Kemberlee Bonnet, David Schlundt, et al.
Citation: The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 21(4), 858-865
Date: 07/2020
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