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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Social determinants of health

The Impact of Internet Connectivity When Conducting a Virtual Clinical Trial with Participants Living in Rural Areas
Evaluates the effectiveness of virtual randomized clinical trials for research involving rural family caregivers. Analyzes notes across 1,003 visits with research participants in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin to identify internet reliability issues and impact on the research. Discusses internet access a social determinant of health.
Author(s): Diane E. Holland, Catherine E. Vanderboom, Jay Mandrekar, et al.
Citation: Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 42, 101366
Date: 12/2024
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Residential Instability, Neighborhood Deprivation, and Outcomes for Children
Examines the effects of residential instability and neighborhood deprivation on children's educational outcomes via an analysis of North Carolina births, lead testing, and standardized testing score data. Includes data on differences in study outcomes based on movement between rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Mercedes A. Bravo, Dominique Zephyr, Marie Lynn Miranda
Citation: BMC Public Health, 24, 3343
Date: 11/2024
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Building a Rural Cancer Care Network: Federal Funding Supports Collaboration of Urban, Regional, and Local Organizations
Features a rural cancer care network in Georgia funded by a federal care coordination grant that brings together an urban nonprofit organization, a regional healthcare system with rural locations, and a local rural physician's office. Highlights the network's work related to patient navigation and clinical cancer trial enrollment.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Eliminating Tobacco-Related Disease and Death: Addressing Disparities - A Report of the Surgeon General
Report explores disparities in tobacco use and tobacco use-related health outcomes. Identifies tobacco-related disparities and the various demographic groups that still use tobacco products at a higher rate than the national average, such as people below the poverty level, workers in manual labor or service industry jobs, and people who live in rural communities, among others. Highlights strategies for curtailing the expansion of tobacco use and details promising interventions for reducing tobacco-related health disparities.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Full Report
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model Evaluation: Third Evaluation Report
Provides an overview of the Accountable Health Communities (ACH) Model, which tests whether identifying and addressing core health-related social needs (HRSNs) of community-dwelling beneficiaries improves health outcomes, reduces healthcare costs, and reduces unnecessary healthcare utilization. Explores which bridge organization and community characteristics were associated with better implementation outcomes, and the beneficiary-level characteristics were associated with a greater probability of accepting navigation, having at least one HRSN resolved, or having all HRSNs resolved. Examines the extent to which bridge organizations met model requirements. Includes information on the availability and quality of community resources to address HRSNs in rural communities.
Additional links: Appendices, Findings at a Glance
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
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CAH Perspectives on Collection and Use of Demographic and Social Drivers of Health Data
Describes how collecting information about social drivers of health (SDOH) can help hospitals inform treatment and discharge planning decisions and identify local health disparities. Summarizes findings from interviews with nine Critical Access Hospital (CAH) staff regarding their experiences collecting demographic and SDOH data. Highlights themes related to challenges CAH staff face in collecting this data and how CAHs utilize the data they collect.
Author(s): Madeleine Pick, Carson Crane, Megan Lahr
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Psychosocial Factors, Stress and Sleep Among Rural Appalachian Kentucky Residents with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Results of a study examining whether psychosocial factors were associated with perceived stress and self-reported sleep deficiency, among 318 people with type 2 diabetes mellitus in 6 counties in rural Appalachian Kentucky. Features demographics and statistics on the association between perceived stress and sleepiness, and depression with perceived stress.
Author(s): Blake DiPaola, Zoe Taylor, Eric Hennemann, et al.
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 6(3), 50-65
Date: 10/2024
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A Ten-Year Overview of Cancer Genetic Family History Screening in Georgia's Latina Population
Examines the use of cancer genetic family history (FH) screening among 9,328 Latina women in Georgia, utilizing 2013-2022 Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education (GA CORE) screening data. Includes data on total positive and negative FH screening results, and compares changes in FH screening completion rates over time by rurality and social deprivation.
Author(s): D. Ramirez Leon, L.E. Barber, S. Gabram-Mendola, et al.
Citation: Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1432971
Date: 10/2024
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Rural–Urban Differences in Dental Opioid Prescribing among Adolescent/Young Adult and Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries
Examines dental opioid prescription rates for adolescents and adults in rural and urban communities, utilizing 2021 Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System Analytic Files data. Breaks down data by race and ethnicity, neighborhood disadvantage, and other demographic factors. Includes color-coded maps showing ranges of prescribing rates in rural and urban areas by state.
Author(s): Carla Shoff, Alex Sheen, Luping Qu, Natalia I. Chalmers
Citation: Frontiers in Public Health, 12
Date: 10/2024
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How is Digital Health Suitability Measured for Communities? A Systematic Review
Provides a systemic review of how digital health suitability is measured to determine if communities can access digital health services. Provides descriptions of various community, ecological, and social vulnerability indices and their ability to measure digital health suitability. Includes discussion about how rurality impacts digital health equity.
Author(s): John Geracitano, Luke Barron, David McSwain, Saif Khairat
Citation: Digital Health, 10
Date: 10/2024
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