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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Public health

Implementing Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change Through Community Coalitions and Extension Partnerships to Address Obesity in Rural Louisiana
Program evaluation brief describing obesity prevention programs implemented by community coalitions in 3 rural parishes with obesity rates of 40% or higher. Examines implications for public health.
Author(s): Denise Holston, Jessica Stroope, Melissa Cater, Michelle Kendall, Stephanie Broyles
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 17
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
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Rural Health Predictions: Q&A with Alan Morgan
An interview with National Rural Health Association (NRHA) CEO Alan Morgan. Focuses on NRHA's work on rural health issues and shares rural health predictions for 2020.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Needs: Findings, Implications, and Summary of a Survey of Probation and Parole Officers in Region 8
Highlights a study on the mental health and substance use training and technical assistance needs of parole and probation officers in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. Breaks down survey data by age, gender, and rural versus urban employment, among other measures. Features one-page summaries for each state.
Additional links: Colorado Summary, Montana Summary, North Dakota Summary, South Dakota Summary, Utah Summary, Wyoming Summary
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center
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Geographic Disparities Affect Access to Buprenorphine Services for Opioid Use Disorder
Results of a national study to determine the patient capacity of healthcare providers who received waivers to prescribe buprenorphine and the extent to which they were located in rural or urban areas with high rates of opioid abuse. Features 2018 county-level maps showing rates of patient capacity and counties with high need for treatment services.
Author(s): Christi A. Grimm
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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HIV Testing Outcomes Among Blacks or African Americans — 50 Local U.S. Jurisdictions Accounting for the Majority of New HIV Diagnoses and Seven States with Disproportionate Occurrences of HIV in Rural Areas, 2017
Reports on HIV testing and diagnoses by a variety of demographic characteristics, including race/ethnicity. Examines linkage to medical care for African Americans with newly diagnosed HIV infection. Study covers 50 U.S. jurisdictions with the majority of new diagnoses as well as the seven states — Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina — with high rural rates of HIV. Rural-specific data is not provided in the results.
Author(s): Aba D. Essuon, Hui Zhao, Guoshen Wang, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 69(4), 97-102
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation in Pennsylvania
Presents an overview of child sexual abuse and exploitation in Pennsylvania. Highlights specific issues in rural areas and compares rural and urban areas in the state. Details conclusions and makes policy recommendations.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Sarah A. Font, Sheridan Miyamoto, Casey N. Pinto
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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A Bivariate Mapping Tutorial for Cancer Control Resource Allocation Decisions and Interventions
Discusses the utility of geographic information systems software (ArcGIS) with public health data to inform resource allocation and public health interventions for cancer control planning. Provides step-by-step guidance for developing a bivariate choropleth map (map of two variables) using county data from South Carolina's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for cervical cancer screening, and data on the availability of cervical cancer screening providers in South Carolina's Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.
Author(s): Claire Biesecker, Whitney E. Zahnd, Heather M. Brandt, Swann Arp Adams, Jan M. Eberth
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 17
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
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Factors Associated with Not Receiving HPV Vaccine among Adolescents by Metropolitan Statistical Area Status, United States, National Immunization Survey–Teen, 2016–2017
Examines 2016 and 2017 data from the National Immunization Survey - Teen (NIS-Teen) to better understand the sociodemographic factors for adolescents not initiating the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series, including by metropolitan statistical area (MSA) status. Table 1 shares data on several sociodemographic and healthcare access factors by MSA for teens aged 13-17 that did not receive an HPV vaccine, including age, sex, immigration status, region of the U.S., parental information, vaccination facility type, and more.
Author(s): Charnetta L. Williams, Tanja Y. Walker, Laurie D. Elam-Evans, et al.
Citation: Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 16(3), 562-572
Date: 2020
Type: Document
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Annual Surveillance Report of Drug-Related Risks and Outcomes, 2019
Summarizes latest information on opioid prescribing, drug use, and overdose mortality from 2018-2019. Features statistics with breakdowns by large metropolitan, small metropolitan, non-metropolitan urbanized, non-metropolitan less urbanized, and completely rural. Highlights notable differences in the report from 2018 to 2019.
Additional links: Highlights
Date: 2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Buyback Program of Unused Prescription Opioids in US Rural Communities, 2017–2018
Describes a buyback intervention that was designed to encourage rural, ambulatory surgery patients to return unused prescription opioids to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital. Provides data on patient characteristics as well as percent of opioids prescribed and returned during 2017 and 2018. Includes implications for public health.
Author(s): Jean Liu, Julie Franklin, Frank Gesek, Joseph Anderson
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 110(9), 1318-1324
Date: 2020
Type: Document
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