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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Social determinants of health

Promoting Integrated and Coordinated Care that Addresses Social Risk for the Dual Eligible Beneficiary Population, 2017
Describes the Measure Applications Partnership's (MAP) recent recommendations and guidance on the use of performance measures to assess and improve healthcare for dually eligible individuals/beneficiaries. Examines current measure gaps, updates to address these gaps, and measures that can help address social risk factors and health disparities. Includes a discussion on categorizing rural location as a social risk factor.
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Quality Forum
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Diabetes and Forgone Medical Care Due to Cost in the U.S. (2011-2015): Individual-level & Placed-based Disparities
Identifies national trends in diabetes rates and forgone medical care among those with diabetes, along with geographic determinants and other social determinants of health disparities. Assesses rurality as a factor that affects diabetes patients' decision to forgo medical care because of cost.
Author(s): Samuel D. Towne Jr, Jane Bolin, Alva O. Ferdinand, et al.
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
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Medical-Legal Partnership Addresses Social Determinants of Health
Explores how FirstHealth of the Carolinas, a private, nonprofit healthcare network based in Pinehurst, North Carolina, reduced emergency department utilization and hospital readmission rates systemwide through the use of transitional care clinics (TCCs) and medical-legal partnerships (MLPs). Highlights how addressing non-medical factors can affect health outcomes.
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Health Disparities in Appalachia
Measures population health in Appalachia and explores disparities within the region and between Appalachia and the country as a whole. Features statistics on mortality, morbidity, behavioral health, child health, community characteristics, lifestyle, healthcare systems, quality of care, and social determinants, with breakdowns between urban and rural areas.
Author(s): Julie L. Marshall, Logan Thomas, Nancy M. Lane, et al.
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Appalachian Regional Commission, PDA, Inc., The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Housing and the Role of Hospitals
Provides an overview of the role of housing in health, and discusses what hospitals can can do to address housing instability as a social determinant of health. Offers five case studies of innovative hospital and health system programs related to housing, including a rural California program that provides safe transitional housing to chronically homeless patients after discharge from the hospital.
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: American Hospital Association, Health Research & Educational Trust
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Issue Brief: Social Services
Discusses the types, prevalence, and the agencies providing social services in schools, with information on city, suburban, and rural schools. Includes data on mental health services, health services, and other types of supports.
Date: 07/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Education
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Screening for Social Determinants of Health in Michigan Health Centers
Examines screening practices for the social determinants of health in Michigan health center settings, including Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Includes map of Michigan with health center locations, health center characteristics and statistics, patients in the study, and percentages of health center screenings for core domains.
Author(s): Elena Byhoff, Alicia J. Cohen, Mary C. Hamati, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 30(4), 418-427
Date: 07/2017
Type: Document
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Impact of Patient Race and Geographical Factors on Initiation and Adherence to Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy in Medicare Breast Cancer Survivors
Study exploring racial and geographical disparities in adjuvant endocrine therapy for female Medicare patients diagnosed between 2007-2011. Features statistics with breakdowns including race or ethnicity, urban or rural residence, age group, and marital status.
Author(s): Fabian T. Camacho, Xi Tan, Hector E. Alcala, et al.
Date: 06/2017
Type: Document
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"We Need Help in the Delta": Barriers to Health Promotion Among Older African American Men in the Mississippi Delta
Studies the challenges of promoting health in the rural Mississippi Delta, focusing on older African American men who participated in a small study group. Describes interviews with individuals and focus groups, emphasizing different understandings of the term "health" and structural concerns about health disparities that create barriers for health promotion.
Author(s): Sherry Wang, LaShaundrea Crook, Carol Connell, Kathy Yadrick
Citation: American Journal of Men's Health, 11(2), 414-425
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
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Thinking "Bigger" About Smaller Places: Why Rural Health Planning is Critical to Successful Rural Collective Impact Approaches
Video of a speech by the president and CEO of the Rural Policy Research Institute. Presented as part of the Rural Health Lecture Series at the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina and co-sponsored by the South Carolina Office of Rural Health. Explores how rural health is affected by social determinants of health, such as availability of safe housing, employment opportunities, and healthy food.
Author(s): Charles W. Fluharty
Date: 03/2017
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, South Carolina Office of Rural Health
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