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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Public health

Multilevel Modeling of County-level Excessive Alcohol Use, Rurality, and COVID-19 Case Fatality Rates in the US
Presents a study on the relationship between COVID-19 outcomes and elevated alcohol use in rural counties. Looks at levels of alcohol use and misuse in rural counties prior to the pandemic and compares it with COVID-19 mortality data. Breaks down data by rurality and alcohol use while controlling for other comorbidities such as obesity, smoking, and being over the age of 65.
Author(s): George Pro, Paul A. Gilbert, Julie A. Baldwin, et al.
Citation: PLOS ONE, 16(6), e0253466
Date: 06/2021
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COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Adults — United States, December 14, 2020–May 22, 2021
Reports on COVID-19 vaccinations administered from December 14, 2020–May 22, 2021, by age, sex, and community-level characteristics. Includes vaccine coverage data by age group (18-29, 30-49, 50-64, 65+) for metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
Author(s): Jill Diesel, Natalie Sterrett, Sharoda Dasgupta, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 70(25), 922-927
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage and Intent Among Adults Aged 18–39 Years — United States, March–May 2021
Reports on COVID-19 vaccination status and intent to get vaccinated among adults 18-39 years of age. Includes data by metropolitan or nonmetro residence.
Author(s): Brittney N. Baack, Neetu Abad, David Yankey, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 70(25), 928-933
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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National RTAP/FTA Webinar: Rural Transportation Planning and the COVID-19 Response
Webinar recording discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected rural and tribal transit, their communities, and the providers responding to the pandemic. Features speakers from the Federal Transit Administration, the National Rural Transit Assistance Program, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Crawford Area Transit Authority, and Nevada County Transit Services.
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Transit Assistance Program
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, June 2021
Evaluates Medicare payment issues and offers recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Chapter 5 presents an interim report on Medicare beneficiaries' access to care in rural areas. Also includes chapters on Medicare Advantage benchmark policy, alternative payment models, private equity and Medicare, the skilled nursing facility value-based purchasing program, indirect medical education payments, Medicare coverage of vaccines, separately payable drugs in the hospital outpatient prospective payment system, clinical laboratory fee schedule payment rates, and the relationship between clinician services and other Medicare services.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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COVID-19 Vaccines: Audience Insights & Messaging Guidance for Rural Communities
Examines rural residents' perspectives and concerns about vaccines, so that business leaders can respond to employee questions and effectively share vaccine facts. Includes suggested messages and links for additional resources.
Additional links: A Checklist for Rural Employers: Making it Easier for Employees & Workers to get Vaccinated
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organization: Health Action Alliance
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Patterns in COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage, by Social Vulnerability and Urbanicity — United States, December 14, 2020–May 1, 2021
Examines vaccination coverage by rurality and social vulnerability. Includes data for metropolitan and nonmetro areas for four levels of social vulnerability and by type of vulnerability, based on the CDC social vulnerability index (SVI).
Author(s): Vaughn Barry, Sharoda Dasgupta, Daniel L. Weller, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 70(22), 818-824
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Providing APPE Pharmacy Students Rural Health Assessment Experience Following Wildfire Event in Western Montana
Discusses an experiential training opportunity in which pharmacy students utilized their clinical rotations to provide screenings for a rural community experiencing wildfire smoke health impacts. Provides information about how the students engaged in rural community interactions and helped to respond to a public health emergency.
Author(s): Cristi A.L. Migliaccio, Sarah Ballou, Mary Buford, Ava Orr, Christopher Migliaccio
Citation: Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 13(5), 560-565
Date: 05/2021
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Firearm Exposure and Storage Practices in the Homes of Rural Adolescents
Surveyed 1,382 rural teenagers at the 2019 Iowa Future Farmers of American (FFA) Leadership Conference regarding firearm access and storage in their homes. Shows both access and storage data broken down by various demographics and whether or not the surveyed lives on a farm, in the country, or in a town.
Author(s): Charles A. Jennissen, Kristel M. Wetjen, Cole C. Wymore, et al.
Citation: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, 22(3)
Date: 05/2021
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Essentially Unprotected: A Focus on Farmworker Health Laws and Policies Addressing Pesticide Exposure and Heat-Related Illness
Report highlights laws and policies that protect farmworkers from heat- and pesticide-related illnesses. Breaks down both federal and state laws in place to protect farmworkers and makes recommendations.
Author(s): Laurie J. Beyranevand, Lihlani Skipper Nelson, Sarah Goldman, et al.
Date: 05/2021
Sponsoring organizations: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Center for a Livable Future, Vermont Law School's Center for Agriculture and Food Systems
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