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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Technology for health and human services

Effect of Behavioral Therapy With In-Clinic or Telephone Group Visits vs In-Clinic Individual Visits on Weight Loss Among Patients With Obesity in Rural Clinical Practice
Examines the difference in weight loss improvements between in-clinic group or telephone visits and in-clinic individual visits. Utilizes data from 1,407 participants visiting 36 primary care practices in the rural Midwestern U.S. and includes descriptive statistics broken down by age, sex, rurality, weight and body mass index, race and ethnicity, and education, among others.
Author(s): Christie A. Befort, Jeffrey J. VanWormer, Cyrus Desouza
Citation: JAMA, 325(4), 363-372
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
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Use of Certified Health IT and Methods to Enable Interoperability by U.S. Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals, 2019
Data brief examining hospital interoperability, including finding, sending, receiving, and integrating electronic health information (EHI) outside their health system, from 2017-2019. Examines rates of interoperability by hospital size, type, method of interoperability, and rural and suburban-urban status. Discusses barriers to EHI interoperability and steps forward.
Author(s): Christian Johnson, Yuriy Pylypchuk
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Federal Universal Service Fund and Other Selected Federal Broadband Programs: A Primer
Provides an overview of federal programs designed to accelerate broadband deployment and adoption in minority communities, rural and tribal areas, and among eligible households.
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation: Taking a Leadership Role and Building Trust
An interview with Kim Barber Tieman, program director for health and human services for the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, sharing how the foundation has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses efforts to help West Virginia organizations navigate and apply for federal funding opportunities, support for mobile COVID testing units to better reach communities of color, support for telehealth infrastructure, and a wide range of other activities to help meet the needs of the vulnerable and disenfranchised.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Fourteenth Broadband Deployment Report
Reports on broadband deployment in the U.S., with information specific to broadband access in rural and tribal communities and the U.S. territories. Includes rural broadband deployment data by state and county.
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Communications Commission
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Independent Evaluation of Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+): Third Annual Report
Reports on the first three program years of the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) model, a CMS primary care payment and delivery reform effort. Discusses CPC+ participating practices, payer partners, and health information technology (HIT) vendors supporting the program. Describes practice changes and outcomes for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries.
Additional links: Appendices, Findings at a Glance
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica
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Con Alma Health Foundation: Health Equity and COVID Relief
An interview with Dolores E. Roybal, executive director of Con Alma Health Foundation, sharing how this New Mexico foundation partnered with other funders to provide almost $2 million in grants and created an advisory committee of immigrant-led, immigrant-serving organizations to address barriers limiting access to services.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Lessons Learned: Pediatric Tele-Mental Health in a Rural Medical Center in the Age of SARS-CoV-2
Explores a study on the use of telemedicine to expand mental healthcare access to rural children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses implementation concerns such as a need to protect patient privacy and expand internet-based infrastructure.
Author(s): Komal Satti, Olutosin Ojugbele
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(1), 260-262
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
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Telemedicine Services During COVID‐19: Considerations for Medically Underserved Populations
Discusses the use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic and details some of the barriers to its use in underserved communities. Highlights the lack of broadband internet in rural areas and on tribal lands, as well the lack of technological capability among older people.
Author(s): Tasha Woodall, Melinda Ramage, John T. LaBruyere, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(1), 231-234
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
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Rural Michigan Farmers' Health Concerns and Experiences: A Focus Group Study
Interviewed 14 members of the Michigan Farm Bureau in 2019 to explore their healthcare system experiences. Overall themes discussed include formal healthcare, well-being and health supports, health insurance, and virtual healthcare. Data show basic demographics of participants in addition to their access to internet, cell phones, and virtual healthcare.
Author(s): Nathan Wright, Marylee Scherdt, Michelle L. Aebersold, et al.
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 12(2021)
Date: 2021
Type: Document
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