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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Specialty care

Introducing Public Health Vending Machines in Rural Communities: Protocol for a Study Using a Community-Based Participatory Approach
Provides a study protocol focused on creating a community-engaged approach to implementing public health vending machines (PHVMs) that distribute naloxone in rural North Carolina. Discusses the need to engage people who have experienced substance use when developing public health interventions to prevent drug overdose.
Author(s): Meghan Guter, Lauren Harrell, Kathleen L Egan, Reese Hiatt, Lori Ann Eldridge
Citation: JMIR Research Protocols, 14
Date: 09/2025
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Disparities in Multi-Modal Spatial Access to Primary and Specialty Care in U.S. Neighborhoods: A Cross-Sectional and Temporal Analysis of Health Services
Provides a multi-modal spatial access measure to examine disparities in access to primary and specialty care across variable geographies. Includes data on spatial access to providers according to metro, micro, small town, or rural location as well as an example of a car-transit-walking composite spatial access map in micropolitan areas of Maine.
Author(s): R. Blake Buchalter, Paul R. Gunsalus, Madeleine M. Blazel, Michael W. Kenyhercz, Jarrod E. Dalton
Citation: PL0S One, 20(9), e0330427
Date: 09/2025
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Rural Providers' Attitudes Toward Integrating Harm Reduction Strategies and PrEP Prescribing into Rural Primary Care Settings in the US. Southeast and Midwest
Examines the perceptions of providers working in rural primary care settings toward buprenorphine, methadone, comprehensive harm reduction, and PrEP prescriptions. Analyzes 409 providers treating either a person with opioid use disorder or a person with HIV and provides data breakdowns on PrEP prescriptions, medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and perceptions toward harm reduction integration.
Author(s): Phillip L. Marotta, Miryam Biaid, Robert Heimer, et al.
Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 20, 73
Date: 09/2025
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Effectiveness of Nirsevimab among Infants in their First RSV Season in the United States, October 2023–March 2024: A Test-Negative Design Analysis
Analyzes the impact of the nirsevimab antibody for infants in their first respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season. Utilizes 2023-2024 electronic health record (EHR) data from 6 healthcare systems to examine RSV-associated emergency department (ED) use and hospitalization according to patient demographics, social determinants of health, health conditions, and location on the rural-urban continuum.
Author(s): Amanda B. Payne, Steph Battan-Wraith, Elizabeth A.K. Rowley, et al.
Citation: The Lancet Regional Health - Americas, 49, 101196
Date: 09/2025
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September 2025 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) September 2024 meeting. Covers Medicare payment operations and improving payment accuracy, a discussion with the Comptroller General of the United States regarding the Government Accountability Office's work related to improper payments in the Medicare program and opportunities to improve program sustainability, Medicare's overall financial situation, access to hospice and services under the Medicare hospice benefit for beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease or cancer, and the relationship between changes in Medicare Advantage enrollment and hospital finances.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) Program
Describes a pilot grant program designed to improve maternal and neonatal health in rural communities by collecting data and supporting the development of financially sustainable and coordinated network models. Aims to make maternal and obstetrics care more accessible through increased use of telehealth and specialty care. Fact sheet provides information on the activities of 3 rural networks funded through the RMOMS program.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Maternal and Child Health Bureau
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Predictors of Adenotonsillectomy for Publicly Insured Children With Sleep-Disordered Breathing
Analyzes associations between demographic factors and adenotonsillectomy rates among Medicaid-insured children in South Carolina. Provides data on adenotonsillectomy, receipt of polysomnography, and race, ethnicity, and rurality.
Author(s): Phayvanh P. Pecha, Pamela L. Ferguson, Marvella E. Ford, Paul J. Nietert
Citation: The Laryngoscope, 136(2), 1012-1019
Date: 08/2025
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Route and Efficiency Analysis of Cancer Health Care (REACH): Investigating Sociodemographic and Rurality of Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients at an NCI-Designated Facility
Explores the association between rurality and access to care for women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Examines travel distance and time to treatment, as well as sociodemographic factors among patients with MBC. Draws data from rural and urban counties in Illinois and Missouri.
Author(s): Amanda Golden, Sarah Humble, Rachelle Roy, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(3), e70063
Date: 08/2025
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Rural Patients' Experiences with Diagnosis and Treatment of Endometrial Cancer
Examines healthcare and treatment quality related to endometrial cancer (EC) in rural patients. Utilizes interview feedback from 22 patients and 1 caregiver in rural North Carolina on perceptions and knowledge of EC symptoms, social network influence, financial and transportation burdens, healthcare experiences, community perceptions, and more.
Author(s): Victoria M. Petermann, Brianna D. Taffe, Blen M. Biru, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(3), e70065
Date: 08/2025
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Understanding the Influence of Social Determinants of Health on Symptom Reporting in Pediatric Cancer
Highlights a study on the social determinants of health of caregivers of children with cancer in Appalachia. Discusses the symptom burden of child cancer and breaks down data by child's age, rurality, and Appalachian versus non-Appalachian location, among other measures.
Author(s): Micah A. Skeens, Adelaide Booze, Mark Ranalli, Anna Olsavsky
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(3), e70071
Date: 08/2025
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