Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Prescription drug misuse
The Opioid Epidemic in Rural Communities: Can Telehealth Increase Access to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder and Offset Barriers to Care?
Examines the impact of telehealth on access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and substance and opioid use disorder (SUD/OUD) treatment. Utilizes data from the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program's (RCORP) consortia, the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), and the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) to analyze access to MOUD and rates of telehealth use for rural consortia. Discusses potential barriers and factors impacting telehealth implementation for SUD/OUD care.
Author(s): Kathleen Meyers, Shannon Herman, Heather Schuler, et al.
Citation: Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 271, 112628
Date: 06/2025
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Examines the impact of telehealth on access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and substance and opioid use disorder (SUD/OUD) treatment. Utilizes data from the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program's (RCORP) consortia, the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), and the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) to analyze access to MOUD and rates of telehealth use for rural consortia. Discusses potential barriers and factors impacting telehealth implementation for SUD/OUD care.
Author(s): Kathleen Meyers, Shannon Herman, Heather Schuler, et al.
Citation: Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 271, 112628
Date: 06/2025
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Practical Ways to Implement The 2022 CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain among American Indian and Alaska Native Patients
Report presents strategies for adapting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2022 opioid prescribing guidelines for application in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. Discusses methods for clinicians to speak with AI/AN patients about pain and the options available to them.
Author(s): Myra Parker, Kase Cragg, Jacob Fong-Gurzinsky, et al.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Seven Directions - A Center for Indigenous Public Health
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Report presents strategies for adapting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2022 opioid prescribing guidelines for application in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. Discusses methods for clinicians to speak with AI/AN patients about pain and the options available to them.
Author(s): Myra Parker, Kase Cragg, Jacob Fong-Gurzinsky, et al.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Seven Directions - A Center for Indigenous Public Health
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Discreet but Accessible: A Qualitative Study with People Who Use Drugs and Service Staff about the Optimal Design of a Harm Reduction Vending Machine in Rural Kentucky
Analyzes perspectives on harm reduction vending machine (HRVM) access and suitability via interviews with people who use drugs as well as health department and syringe service program (SSP) staff in rural Appalachian Kentucky. Discusses factors influencing the usefulness of HRVMs and their ability to address public health needs such as infectious disease prevention, overdose reduction, and other community benefits.
Author(s): Rachel M. Marschke, April M. Young, Hannah K. Knudsen, Chelsi N. Cheatom, Hannah L. F. Cooper
Citation: Harm Reduction Journal, 22, 88
Date: 05/2025
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Analyzes perspectives on harm reduction vending machine (HRVM) access and suitability via interviews with people who use drugs as well as health department and syringe service program (SSP) staff in rural Appalachian Kentucky. Discusses factors influencing the usefulness of HRVMs and their ability to address public health needs such as infectious disease prevention, overdose reduction, and other community benefits.
Author(s): Rachel M. Marschke, April M. Young, Hannah K. Knudsen, Chelsi N. Cheatom, Hannah L. F. Cooper
Citation: Harm Reduction Journal, 22, 88
Date: 05/2025
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Rural Access to Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs)
Examines access to, and services offered by, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) in rural and urban communities. Also compares services at CCBHCs with those offered at other mental health clinics. Features state-level maps showing CCBHC counts by state, and statistics on services counts in CCBHCs and other mental health facilities, with breakdowns by urban and rural areas.
Author(s): Aaron P. Smith, Jeffrey Talbert
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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Examines access to, and services offered by, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) in rural and urban communities. Also compares services at CCBHCs with those offered at other mental health clinics. Features state-level maps showing CCBHC counts by state, and statistics on services counts in CCBHCs and other mental health facilities, with breakdowns by urban and rural areas.
Author(s): Aaron P. Smith, Jeffrey Talbert
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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Reported Rural Drug Overdoses Decline 40 Percent in One Year (Pennsylvania)
Compares rates of drug overdoses in 2023 and 2024 in rural and urban areas of Pennsylvania. Features statistics on reported drug overdose rates per 100,000 during these years, percent of rural and urban residents receiving Naloxone in 2023 and 2024, demographic information on rural overdose victims, and a county-level map showing percent change in reported overdoses by county.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Compares rates of drug overdoses in 2023 and 2024 in rural and urban areas of Pennsylvania. Features statistics on reported drug overdose rates per 100,000 during these years, percent of rural and urban residents receiving Naloxone in 2023 and 2024, demographic information on rural overdose victims, and a county-level map showing percent change in reported overdoses by county.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Opioid Stewardship Programs in Rural Arizona
Provides an overview of Opioid Stewardship Programs (OSPs), and discusses OSP implementation and knowledge in Arizona from a survey of 39 Arizona rural hospital leaders and professionals. Includes an infographic on the results of the OSP survey and links to OSP training resources.
Author(s): Bridget S. Murphy
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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Provides an overview of Opioid Stewardship Programs (OSPs), and discusses OSP implementation and knowledge in Arizona from a survey of 39 Arizona rural hospital leaders and professionals. Includes an infographic on the results of the OSP survey and links to OSP training resources.
Author(s): Bridget S. Murphy
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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Controlled Substance Prescribing Patterns Among Fatal Overdose Decedents with an Opioid, Stimulant, or Both Contributing to Death — Pennsylvania, 2017–2022
Reports on deaths involving opioids without stimulants, deaths involving stimulants without opioids, and deaths involving both opioids and stimulants in Pennsylvania between 2017 and 2022. Includes data for rural and urban areas. Discusses the role of opioid prescribing on overdose deaths.
Author(s): Stephanie Hayden, Stanley M. Murzynski, Ashley Bolton, Carrie Thomas Goetz
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(12), 205-209
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Reports on deaths involving opioids without stimulants, deaths involving stimulants without opioids, and deaths involving both opioids and stimulants in Pennsylvania between 2017 and 2022. Includes data for rural and urban areas. Discusses the role of opioid prescribing on overdose deaths.
Author(s): Stephanie Hayden, Stanley M. Murzynski, Ashley Bolton, Carrie Thomas Goetz
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(12), 205-209
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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The Rural and Urban Supply of Clinicians With a DEA Waiver to Prescribe Buprenorphine in 2022 Prior to the Elimination of the Waiver Requirement
Report explores the differences in rates of clinicians with DEA waivers to prescribe buprenorphine in 2022 in rural versus urban counties. Highlights the rural gaps in access to buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder prior to the elimination of the DEA waiver requirement in 2023. Provides rural, urban, and regional comparisons.
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Report explores the differences in rates of clinicians with DEA waivers to prescribe buprenorphine in 2022 in rural versus urban counties. Highlights the rural gaps in access to buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder prior to the elimination of the DEA waiver requirement in 2023. Provides rural, urban, and regional comparisons.
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Different Forms of Stigma and Rural Primary Care Professionals' Willingness to Prescribe Buprenorphine
Presents a study exploring the different types of stigma affecting buprenorphine and other medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) prescribing rates in rural primary care settings. Details perceived stigmas around MOUD by providers, such as the fear of being harmed by patients, fear of their professional image being harmed, and the fear of the medications harming their patients.
Author(s): Berkeley Franz, Lindsay Y. Dhanani, Sean Bogart, et al.
Citation: Journal of Substance Use & Addiction Treatment, 171, 209633
Date: 04/2025
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Presents a study exploring the different types of stigma affecting buprenorphine and other medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) prescribing rates in rural primary care settings. Details perceived stigmas around MOUD by providers, such as the fear of being harmed by patients, fear of their professional image being harmed, and the fear of the medications harming their patients.
Author(s): Berkeley Franz, Lindsay Y. Dhanani, Sean Bogart, et al.
Citation: Journal of Substance Use & Addiction Treatment, 171, 209633
Date: 04/2025
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Epidemiology of 911 Calls for Opioid Overdose in Nogales, Arizona
Presents a study reviewing the 911 calls pertaining to opioid overdose in the Nogales, AZ area. Details the prehospital care received in the rural, borderland community and evaluates EMS's adherence to naloxone distribution protocol.
Author(s): Melody Glenn, Darien Stratton, Keith Primeau, Amber Rice
Citation: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, 26(3)
Date: 03/2025
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Presents a study reviewing the 911 calls pertaining to opioid overdose in the Nogales, AZ area. Details the prehospital care received in the rural, borderland community and evaluates EMS's adherence to naloxone distribution protocol.
Author(s): Melody Glenn, Darien Stratton, Keith Primeau, Amber Rice
Citation: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, 26(3)
Date: 03/2025
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