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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Substance use and misuse

Opioid Addiction: Laws, Regulations, and Other Factors Can Affect Medication-Assisted Treatment Access
Examines current federal laws and regulations related to the medication-assisted treatment (MAT) of opioid dependency, and discusses how these laws affect access to treatment, including in rural areas. Also explores other factors that affect access to treatment such as cost, insurance coverage, practitioner availability, and perceived value. Provides detailed descriptions about the uses and concerns of the three medications currently approved by the FDA for use in opioid MAT - methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Behavioral Health Among American Indian and Alaska Natives: An Overview
Describes Indian Health Service (IHS) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) programs designed to address behavioral health problems in the American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) population. Provides background information about risk factors, prevalence, and limited access to care.
Date: 09/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Supply and Distribution of the Behavioral Health Workforce in Rural America
Discusses and compares the provider to population ratios of the behavioral health workforce in metropolitan and nonmetro (micropolitan and non-core) U.S. counties. A state-level analysis of the study is also available with information for all states.
Author(s): Eric H. Larson, Davis G. Patterson, Lisa A. Garberson, C. Holly A. Andrilla
Date: 09/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Results from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables
Provides data on use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, trends in substance use disorder and mental health, and access to treatment for youth 12-17 and adults. Features statistics for a variety of demographic and geographic characteristics.
Date: 09/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Fentanyl Law Enforcement Submissions and Increases in Synthetic Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths - 27 States, 2013-2014
Reports on drugs testing positive for fentanyl. Provides information on synthetic opioid-involved deaths other than methadone, including fentanyl deaths. For 27 states with death certificate reporting of drugs involved in overdoses, provides data for metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
Author(s): R. Matthew Gladden, Pedro Martinez, Puja Seth
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 65(33), 837-843
Date: 08/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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The Health Status of Northeast Texas
Describes health status of residents of a largely rural 35-county area, including mortality rates, prevalence of cigarette smoking, healthcare access, and percentage of people with health insurance. Features county-level statistics with breakdowns by population size, level of rurality, median income, and age-adjusted mortality rate.
Author(s): Eileen Nehme
Date: 08/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Texas Health and Human Services
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Project ECHO's Complex Care Initiative: Building Capacity to Help "Superutilizers" in Underserved Communities
Describes a case study from the University of New Mexico's Project ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) program, which uses telehealth to support primary care clinicians in underserved areas. Focuses on a project targeting Medicaid beneficiaries with substance abuse and mental health issues, with details on two primary care teams being supported, including one in a rural New Mexico community.
Author(s): Martha Hostetter, Sarah Klein, Douglas McCarthy
Date: 08/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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Talking Rural Opioid Use at the United Nations: Q&A with Holly Andrilla
An interview with rural health researcher Holly Andrilla of the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center, recounting her experience presenting to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime in Vienna, Austria. Provides an international perspective on substance abuse prevention and treatment.
Author(s): Zachary Toliver
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 08/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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HIV Infection Linked to Injection Use of Oxymorphone in Indiana, 2014-2015
Examines the scope and source of an outbreak of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection due to a single HIV type 1 (HIV-1) strain in a small rural community in Indiana. Discusses how prescription opioid analgesic abuse and the injection of drugs has contributed to the rapid spread of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV. Describes how contact tracing was used to develop control measures and offers several recommendations on how to prevent similar outbreaks in the future.
Author(s): Philip J. Peters, Pamela Pontones, Karen W. Hoover, et al.
Citation: New England Journal of Medicine, 375, 229-239
Date: 07/2016
Type: Document
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Remedy for the Rural Opioid Epidemic: Leaders Discuss Medication-Assisted Addiction Treatment in Primary Care
Summarizes a meeting focused on understanding the opioid challenges in rural Northern California and identifying potential solutions. Provides maps highlighting opioid overdose death rates by county and the availability of licensed narcotic treatment programs.
Date: 07/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: California Health Care Foundation
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