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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Prescription drug misuse

Rural Response to the Opioid Crisis Issue Guide
Learn about activities underway to address the opioid crisis in rural communities at the national, state, and local levels. Includes initiatives and funding opportunities, rural program examples, and tools and resources focused on prevention, harm reduction, and treatment.
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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HRSA: Opioid Crisis
Features information, resources, and opportunities related to addressing the opioid crisis. Details HRSA's efforts to help combat opioid abuse, including the sharing of best practices, increasing education and training, and expanding access through health centers and the use of telehealth, among other interventions.
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Opioid Use Disorder: Rural Policy Brief
Policy brief focused on preventing rural opioid overdoses and reducing overdose deaths in rural areas. Identifies policy options and strategies including evidence-based prescribing methods, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and overdose reversing medication. Includes three brief case studies.
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Drug Overdose Deaths in Appalachia
Interactive map highlights drug overdose deaths in Appalachia by county. Features demographic information such as race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and disability status, as well as economic factors such as poverty rate, unemployment rate, and accident-prone employment, among others. Choose the Appalachian Overdose Mapping Tool button when prompted to choose a tool.
Sponsoring organizations: Appalachian Regional Commission, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Trends in Opioid-Related Hospitalizations
Presents data on opioid-related hospitalizations for 2009-2014 and 2016. Includes national and state-level data by patient location for metropolitan and rural areas.
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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U.S. Opioid Dispensing Rate Maps
A collection of maps showing retail opioid dispensing rates from 2019-2022 at the county and state level.
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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HCUP Fast Stats - Opioid-Related Hospital Use
Provides access to data on opioid-related inpatient stays and emergency department (ED) visits over a range of years. Data is available at the national and state level. To access rural data, select the Trend Graph or Trend Table view and select Patient location under Characteristics. Inpatient or ED data can be selected under Hospital Settings.
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Mapping Broadband Health in America
Connect2Health mapping tool for visualizing broadband access, demographics, and health data at the national, state, and county levels. Includes a rural filter based on the percent of the population that is rural. Health topics include access to care, chronic disease, opioids, and maternal health.
Additional links: Chronic Disease Map, Maternal Health Map, Opioids Map
Sponsoring organization: Federal Communications Commission
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