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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Substance use and misuse

Families in Crisis: The Human Service Implications of Rural Opioid Misuse
Presents findings and policy recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services' 2016 meeting with rural residents, healthcare providers, and stakeholders regarding the impact and effects of opioid use disorders on rural families. Topics addressed include drug overdose and death, conflict with partners and children, emotional disturbance, adverse health risks, and related impacts on employment and economic sustainability.
Date: 07/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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On Pills and Needles: Counties Fight the Opioid Drug Crisis
Special issue focused on how counties are responding to the opioid crisis. Includes an interview with Michael Botticelli, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, focused on the federal response to rural opioid abuse.
Citation: County News
Date: 07/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Counties
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The Opioid Epidemic: Rural Organizations Fight Back
Highlights programs across the country, such as the ANGEL Program, the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PARRI) and the Second Chance Drug Initiative, in which police departments and treatment facilities work together to fight addiction and move drug users toward treatment rather than incarceration. Also discusses the use and availability of Naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug.
Author(s): Zachary Toliver
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 06/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Perceptions of the Role of West Virginia's Cooperative Extension Service in Tobacco Control Coalitions
Examines the Cooperative Extension Service's involvement in county-level coalitions addressing tobacco use in West Virginia with a focus on prevention for elementary students. Identifies methods to increase the role of the Extension Service that will improve lives, reduce economic hardships on families, and lessen the healthcare costs on state government.
Author(s): Donald Reed, Dana Lester, Kathy Danberry, et al.
Citation: Frontiers in Public Health, 4, 83
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
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Rural Tobacco Use Across the United States: How Rural and Urban Areas Differ, Broken down by Census Regions and Divisions
Examines rural and urban differences in tobacco use and variations across the U.S. by Census regions and divisions using 2012-2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data. Covers rural and urban prevalence rates for tobacco products.
Author(s): Megan E. Roberts, Nathan J. Doogan, Allison N. Kurti, et al.
Citation: Health & Place, 39, 153-159
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
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Neighborhood Contextual Factors, Alcohol Use, and Alcohol Problems in the United States: Evidence from a Nationally-Representative Study of Young Adults
Examines Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health data for young adults, aged 18-26, to better understand alcohol use and related problems from the past year. Analyzes neighborhood contextual factors, such as density of on- and off-premises alcohol outlets, neighborhood disadvantage, and rural versus urban residence, and mapped alcohol outlet licenses. Includes statistics for demographics, neighborhood context, and alcohol use and problems.
Author(s): Wendy S. Slutske, Arielle R. Deutsch, Thomas M. Piasecki
Citation: Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 40(5), 1010-1019
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
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Prescription Opioid Use: Patient Characteristics and Misuse in Community Pharmacy
Highlights a study on prescription opioid use in both rural and urban communities in southwestern Pennsylvania. Analyzes data from an anonymous survey about opioid usage by type of drug and participant characteristics, such as age, gender, and education, among others.
Author(s): Gerald Cochran, Jennifer L. Bacci, Thomas Ylioja, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 56(3), 248-256
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
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The Communities That Care Coalition Model for Improving Community Health through Clinical-Community Partnerships: A Population Health Case Report
Discussion paper featuring a community coalition in rural western Massachusetts focused on supporting youth well-being and reducing youth substance abuse. Describes the initiative and the partners involved, including clinicians and public health. Discusses how the Communities That Care Coalition works within a network of local coalitions, including acting as the prevention arm of the region's Opioid Task Force.
Author(s): Jeanette Voas, Katherine Allen, Ruth Potee
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy of Medicine
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The Opioid Epidemic: Testing the Limits of Rural Healthcare
Discusses the factors that make rural communities vulnerable to the ongoing opioid epidemic and efforts needed in rural areas to address this crisis, including the role of rural first responders.
Author(s): Zachary Toliver
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Eliminating the Public Health Problem of Hepatitis B and C in the United States: Phase One Report
Discusses the national burden of Hepatitis B and C infections, and assesses the feasibility of meeting national and global reduction targets or achieving complete elimination of the disease. Also addresses challenges to adapting eradication strategies in rural areas. A National Strategy for the Elimination of Hepatitis B and C: Phase Two Report recommends specific actions to accelerate eradication efforts.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 04/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Committee on a National Strategy for the Elimination of Hepatitis B and C, Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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