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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Populations

Sentinel Enhanced Dengue Surveillance System — Puerto Rico, 2012–2022
Highlights the results of viral Dengue surveillance in Puerto Rico from May, 2012 to December, 2022. Details and tracks the various forms of illnesses that Dengue presents as. Discusses other diseases caught via the surveillance, such as Zika, COVID-19, and other respiratory viruses.
Author(s): Zachary J. Madewell, Alfonso C. Hernandez-Romieu, Joshua M. Wong, et al.
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 73(3), 1-29
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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CMS Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced Model: Fifth Annual Evaluation Report
Fifth annual report of the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced) Model, which tests whether linking payments for a clinical episode of care can reduce Medicare expenditures while maintaining or improving the quality of care. Explores the impact of BPCI Advanced on episode payments, utilization, and quality of care, as well as estimates of Medicare program savings in Model Year 4. Describes changes to the model that were implemented in Model Year 4 and how BPCI Advanced relates to Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Appendices, Executive Summary, Findings at a Glance
Author(s): The Lewin Group, Abt Associates, GDIT, Telligen
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Assessment and Tailoring Study (WIC NATS)
Provides an overview of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and how local WIC agencies and clinic sites assess their breastfeeding and nutrition services to improve participant retention and service delivery. Includes two reports: a pre-pandemic nutrition assessment report at the state and local levels and a remote versus in-person report focused on assessment processes. Includes data from state agencies as well as 369 local WIC agencies, with differences between rural versus urban agencies discussed.
Additional links: Final Report Part 1, Final Report Part 2, Summary
Author(s): M. Gabay, A.A. Gola, M. Gearing, et al.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: USDA Food and Nutrition Service
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Stand up and Be Counted: Representing More Rural Veterans in Research
Describes the National Institute of Health's (NIH) All of Us Research Program and efforts to increase the representation of rural veterans in the program. Discusses the rural health related goals of the program.
Author(s): Angela Lutz
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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VA Health Care: Additional Assessments of Mileage Reimbursement Data and Veterans' Travel Costs Needed
Provides an overview of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) mileage reimbursement benefit that reimburses eligible veterans for the use of personal vehicles to attend VHA-approved care. Explores the extent to which the benefit helps defray travel costs by describing the distance a veteran would have to travel to receive a non-zero reimbursement across a variety of conditions. Presents VHA data on veterans' use of the benefit from fiscal years 2010 through 2023, as well as fuel costs incurred and mileage reimbursement for hypothetical trips to 3 VA health systems by rurality. Offers recommendations to the VA and VHA on the collection and assessment of veterans' use of the mileage reimbursement benefit and how travel costs vary by subpopulations, such as rural veterans.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Interconnected: Minnesota's Housing Crisis
A recorded video of a panel conversation focused on housing issues in rural and urban Minnesota. Discusses racial disparities in home ownership as well as housing and policy solutions. Transcript available below description.
Author(s): Esther Agbaje, Andrew Myers, Shereese Turner, et al.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Center for Rural Policy and Development, Citizens League
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Veterans Affairs: Actions Needed to Improve Access to Care in the U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States
Examines how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates the population of veterans in the U.S. territories and freely associated states (FAS) to inform resource allocation and outreach needs. Describes how the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) monitors veterans' use of and access to healthcare services at VHA facilities in the U.S. territories. Discusses challenges veterans face in accessing VHA services in the U.S. territories and FAS and VA efforts to address these challenges. Offers recommendations to the VA and Department of Defense to assess the data sources in its model for estimating the veteran population and its travel benefits policies for territory veterans.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Oversight Hearing Titled, "Examining Public Safety and Justice Resources in Native Communities"
Recording of a hearing from U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs discussing federal resources for public safety in tribal communities. Discusses drug-related crime, human trafficking, and violence and abuse. Includes testimony from Bryan Newland from the Department of the Interior, Patrice Kunesh from the Department of Health and Human Services, and Allison Randall from the Office of Violence Against Women. Captions included in the video player.
Additional links: Testimony of Allison Randall, Testimony of The Honorable Bryan Newland, Testimony of The Honorable Patrice Kunesh
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
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A Look at the Latest Alcohol Death Data and Change Over the Last Decade
Describes findings from an analysis of 2012 to 2022 CDC WONDER data regarding trends in deaths caused by conditions directly attributable to alcohol consumption, also referred to as alcohol-induced deaths or alcohol deaths. Presents data on alcohol death rates in 2022 and over time by demographic characteristics, state, and rurality. Discusses factors that may contribute to increases in alcohol deaths since 2012.
Author(s): Heather Saunders, Robin Rudowitz
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Cohort Profile: The Assessing Imperial Valley Respiratory Health and the Environment (AIRE) Study
Details a prospective cohort study focused on examining the respiratory health effects of childhood exposures to wind-blown particulate matter (PM) in a rural area of California. Utilizes 2017-2019 data to observe asthmatic symptoms and other health indicators across sociodemographic categories. Discusses the impact of PM on childhood health and the potential for geographic disparities.
Author(s): Shohreh F. Farzan, Elizabeth Kamai, Dayane Duenas Barahona, et al.
Citation: Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 38(4), 359-369
Date: 05/2024
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