Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Research methods and resources
IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network for Underserved and Rural Communities
Describes the goals of the Institutional Development Awards States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network to provide research infrastructure to pediatrician scientists as well as run clinical trials related to healthcare for children, including for children in rural areas. Discusses the structure of the network, characteristics of ISPCTN states, sustainability efforts, and more.
Author(s): Robert D. Annett, Sheva Chervinskiy, Thomas H. Chun, et al.
Citation: Pediatrics, 146(4), e20200290
Date: 10/2020
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Describes the goals of the Institutional Development Awards States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network to provide research infrastructure to pediatrician scientists as well as run clinical trials related to healthcare for children, including for children in rural areas. Discusses the structure of the network, characteristics of ISPCTN states, sustainability efforts, and more.
Author(s): Robert D. Annett, Sheva Chervinskiy, Thomas H. Chun, et al.
Citation: Pediatrics, 146(4), e20200290
Date: 10/2020
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A Non-Randomized Pilot Study to Test the Feasibility of Treating Chronic Pain and Opioid Prescription Use in Rural Areas with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (T-PACT)
Describes a pilot study examining research feasibility, methods, and processes for administering acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) as a treatment for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) and a possible alternative to prescribed opioids. The research team included four Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hubs that administered the study in rural areas of New Mexico, North Carolina, Kansas, and Kentucky. Discusses survey data and lessons learned from the pilot study, including unexpected barriers to participation.
Author(s): Robert L. Rhyne, Heidi Rishel Brakey, Jacquie R. Halladay, et al.
Citation: Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 4(5), 472-476
Date: 10/2020
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Describes a pilot study examining research feasibility, methods, and processes for administering acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) as a treatment for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) and a possible alternative to prescribed opioids. The research team included four Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hubs that administered the study in rural areas of New Mexico, North Carolina, Kansas, and Kentucky. Discusses survey data and lessons learned from the pilot study, including unexpected barriers to participation.
Author(s): Robert L. Rhyne, Heidi Rishel Brakey, Jacquie R. Halladay, et al.
Citation: Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 4(5), 472-476
Date: 10/2020
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The American Opioid Epidemic in Special Populations: Five Examples
Report on the disproportionate impacts of the opioid crisis on populations, in the criminal justice system, rural residents, veterans, young adults, and individuals who inject drugs. Offers statistical data for each group and discussion of opioid use disorder and mortality, barriers to treatment, promising strategies to address treatment issues, and research and policy priorities. Section on rural populations offers data on drug overdose deaths, rates of opioid prescription, and the association between economic distress and opioid-involved deaths.
Author(s): Carlos Blanco, Mir M. Ali, Aaron Beswick, et al.
Date: 10/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Academy of Medicine
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Report on the disproportionate impacts of the opioid crisis on populations, in the criminal justice system, rural residents, veterans, young adults, and individuals who inject drugs. Offers statistical data for each group and discussion of opioid use disorder and mortality, barriers to treatment, promising strategies to address treatment issues, and research and policy priorities. Section on rural populations offers data on drug overdose deaths, rates of opioid prescription, and the association between economic distress and opioid-involved deaths.
Author(s): Carlos Blanco, Mir M. Ali, Aaron Beswick, et al.
Date: 10/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Academy of Medicine
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Understanding and Using American Community Survey Data: What Users of Data for Rural Areas Need to Know
An overview of what data users need to know about working with American Community Survey (ACS) data for rural areas. Addresses how rural is defined, the use of 5-year estimates, strategies to produce reliable estimates for rural communities, where to access rural ACS estimates, and case studies of rural data use.
Date: 10/2020
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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An overview of what data users need to know about working with American Community Survey (ACS) data for rural areas. Addresses how rural is defined, the use of 5-year estimates, strategies to produce reliable estimates for rural communities, where to access rural ACS estimates, and case studies of rural data use.
Date: 10/2020
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Recruitment Best Practices of a Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Randomised Control Trial in Rural Alaska Native Communities
Describes the research methods of the Healthy and Empowering Alaskan Lives Towards Healthy Hearts (HEALTHH) project, which recruited participants from the 16 communities that make up the rural Norton Sound region of Alaska to study smoking behavior and chronic disease prevention efforts among Alaska Native populations. Explores special considerations for research involving remote tribal communities and analyzes data related to recruitment best practices, staffing issues, and barriers to enrolling study participants.
Author(s): Mariah Knox, Jordan Skan, Neal L. Benowitz, Matthew Schnellbaecher, Judith J. Prochaska
Citation: International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 79(1), 1806639
Date: 08/2020
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Describes the research methods of the Healthy and Empowering Alaskan Lives Towards Healthy Hearts (HEALTHH) project, which recruited participants from the 16 communities that make up the rural Norton Sound region of Alaska to study smoking behavior and chronic disease prevention efforts among Alaska Native populations. Explores special considerations for research involving remote tribal communities and analyzes data related to recruitment best practices, staffing issues, and barriers to enrolling study participants.
Author(s): Mariah Knox, Jordan Skan, Neal L. Benowitz, Matthew Schnellbaecher, Judith J. Prochaska
Citation: International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 79(1), 1806639
Date: 08/2020
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Effective Community-Based Initiatives Are Needed to Curb the Opioid Crisis
Describes 6 community-research collaboratives to address the opioid crisis at the local level, including programs in St. Louis, MO, Olympia, WA, Ithaca, NY, and rural programs in Rio Arriba County, NM, western North Carolina, and tribal communities in the Midwest and the Northern Plains.
Author(s): Beth Connolly, Leslie Paulson
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Pew
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Describes 6 community-research collaboratives to address the opioid crisis at the local level, including programs in St. Louis, MO, Olympia, WA, Ithaca, NY, and rural programs in Rio Arriba County, NM, western North Carolina, and tribal communities in the Midwest and the Northern Plains.
Author(s): Beth Connolly, Leslie Paulson
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Pew
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National Hospital Care Survey Demonstration Projects: Opioid-Involved Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths
Demonstrates a method for linking three data sets to examine opioid-involved emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and mortality. Reported results are not nationally representative. Includes analysis of opioid-involved and nonopioid-involved ED-only visits for rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Merianne Rose Spencer, Lee Anne Flagg, Geoff Jackson, Carol DeFrances, Holly Hedegaard
Date: 06/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Demonstrates a method for linking three data sets to examine opioid-involved emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and mortality. Reported results are not nationally representative. Includes analysis of opioid-involved and nonopioid-involved ED-only visits for rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Merianne Rose Spencer, Lee Anne Flagg, Geoff Jackson, Carol DeFrances, Holly Hedegaard
Date: 06/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Use of Small-Area Estimates to Describe County-Level Geographic Variation in Prevalence of Extreme Obesity among US Adults
Study examining the variability in prevalence of extreme obesity at the county level, using small-area estimation to pinpoint specific areas of high and low prevalence. Uses data from the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the U.S. Census Bureau to create county-level estimates for adults over 18 years of age. Discusses contrasting pictures of extreme obesity at a broad state level and at the county level, highlighting ranges of prevalence in select states and noting some areas of rural prevalence.
Author(s): Carrie W. Mills, Glen Johnson, Terry T. K. Huang, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 3(5), e204289
Date: 05/2020
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Study examining the variability in prevalence of extreme obesity at the county level, using small-area estimation to pinpoint specific areas of high and low prevalence. Uses data from the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the U.S. Census Bureau to create county-level estimates for adults over 18 years of age. Discusses contrasting pictures of extreme obesity at a broad state level and at the county level, highlighting ranges of prevalence in select states and noting some areas of rural prevalence.
Author(s): Carrie W. Mills, Glen Johnson, Terry T. K. Huang, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 3(5), e204289
Date: 05/2020
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Considerations for Defining Rural Places in Health Policies and Programs
Highlights key questions to be considered when evaluating a definition of rural that is most appropriate for a specific policy or program. Discusses the principles needed to drive rural definitions and the current challenges of changing rural definitions. Provides an overview of common rural definitions in use, and offers options for the development of new definitions and adjustments to current definitions.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller, Andrew F. Coburn, Alana Knudson, Jennifer P. Lundblad, A. Clinton MacKinney, et al.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Highlights key questions to be considered when evaluating a definition of rural that is most appropriate for a specific policy or program. Discusses the principles needed to drive rural definitions and the current challenges of changing rural definitions. Provides an overview of common rural definitions in use, and offers options for the development of new definitions and adjustments to current definitions.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller, Andrew F. Coburn, Alana Knudson, Jennifer P. Lundblad, A. Clinton MacKinney, et al.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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In Search of "Good" Rural Data: Measuring Rural Prosperity
Discusses the availability of data on rural communities, including economic, health, demographic, and geographic data, and issues that make rural data collection and reporting difficult. Compares 22 datasets, exploring what makes data collection difficult and what makes specific datasets challenging to work with. Addresses methods of locating good information in existing datasets, as well as steps toward improving data access.
Author(s): Corianne Payton Scally, Eric Burnstein, Matthew Gerken, Evelyn Immonen
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Aspen Institute, Housing Assistance Council, Urban Institute
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Discusses the availability of data on rural communities, including economic, health, demographic, and geographic data, and issues that make rural data collection and reporting difficult. Compares 22 datasets, exploring what makes data collection difficult and what makes specific datasets challenging to work with. Addresses methods of locating good information in existing datasets, as well as steps toward improving data access.
Author(s): Corianne Payton Scally, Eric Burnstein, Matthew Gerken, Evelyn Immonen
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Aspen Institute, Housing Assistance Council, Urban Institute
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