Rural Health
Resources by Type: Document
2026 Arkansas State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup: Annual Profile of Substance Use
Provides information on youth and adult substance abuse in Arkansas to help guide substance abuse prevention decision-making. Highlights consequences such as arrests, suicide, and depression and focuses on alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug, and prescription drug use. Includes county-level profiles and an overview of a variety of community and personal health indicators.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Arkansas Department of Human Services, UA Little Rock MidSOUTH Center for Prevention and Training, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
view details
Provides information on youth and adult substance abuse in Arkansas to help guide substance abuse prevention decision-making. Highlights consequences such as arrests, suicide, and depression and focuses on alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug, and prescription drug use. Includes county-level profiles and an overview of a variety of community and personal health indicators.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Arkansas Department of Human Services, UA Little Rock MidSOUTH Center for Prevention and Training, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
view details
The Childcare and Farm Children's Safety Conundrum
Discusses the family, community and interpersonal, and policy factors impacting farm safety decisions by exploring child care on the farm. Study included 68 farm women in Ohio, Vermont, and Wisconsin, states chosen based on their rates of child injuries, policy approaches to child care, production types, and rates of female and beginning farmers.
Author(s): Florence Becot, Sarah Ruszkowski
Citation: Rural Sociology, 91(4)
Date: 10/2026
view details
Discusses the family, community and interpersonal, and policy factors impacting farm safety decisions by exploring child care on the farm. Study included 68 farm women in Ohio, Vermont, and Wisconsin, states chosen based on their rates of child injuries, policy approaches to child care, production types, and rates of female and beginning farmers.
Author(s): Florence Becot, Sarah Ruszkowski
Citation: Rural Sociology, 91(4)
Date: 10/2026
view details
October 2026 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) October 2026 meeting. Covers an analysis of physician participation in Medicare Advantage provider networks, issues affecting the payment accuracy of the physician fee schedule and the clinical laboratory fee schedule, clinician quality initiatives in fee-for-service Medicare, Medicare's late-enrollment penalties, and MedPAC's work plan regarding the skilled nursing facility and home health prospective payment systems.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) October 2026 meeting. Covers an analysis of physician participation in Medicare Advantage provider networks, issues affecting the payment accuracy of the physician fee schedule and the clinical laboratory fee schedule, clinician quality initiatives in fee-for-service Medicare, Medicare's late-enrollment penalties, and MedPAC's work plan regarding the skilled nursing facility and home health prospective payment systems.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Notes from the Field: Dengue Outbreak — U.S. Virgin Islands, January 2024–June 2025
Provides an overview of the response to a dengue virus outbreak in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Discusses the addition of diagnostic testing and web-based reporting for dengue in the USVI, clinical training, vector control, and community outreach.
Author(s): Sarah Gallalee, Hannah M. Cranford, Andra Prosper, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 75(40), 607-608
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
view details
Provides an overview of the response to a dengue virus outbreak in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Discusses the addition of diagnostic testing and web-based reporting for dengue in the USVI, clinical training, vector control, and community outreach.
Author(s): Sarah Gallalee, Hannah M. Cranford, Andra Prosper, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 75(40), 607-608
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
view details
Chronic Conditions in Residential Care Communities: United States, 2025
Reports on the prevalence of chronic disease among patients in residential care communities using 2025 National Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Study data. See Figure 2 for a metro-nonmetro comparison of residential care communities reporting patients with all four chronic conditions (Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, diabetes, depression, heart disease).
Author(s): Christine Caffrey, Manisha Sengupta, Jessica P. Lendon, Shannon Kindilien, Amanuel Melekin
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
view details
Reports on the prevalence of chronic disease among patients in residential care communities using 2025 National Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Study data. See Figure 2 for a metro-nonmetro comparison of residential care communities reporting patients with all four chronic conditions (Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, diabetes, depression, heart disease).
Author(s): Christine Caffrey, Manisha Sengupta, Jessica P. Lendon, Shannon Kindilien, Amanuel Melekin
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
view details
Building on the 2025 National Academies Pharmacy Workshop: Pharmacy Deserts in the United States
Describes pharmacy access in the United States, including discussions of "pharmacy desert" definitions by rurality, drivers of recent pharmacy desert trends, and the impact of pharmacy deserts on health outcomes. Highlights potential policy strategies for addressing pharmacy deserts with focus on the pharmacy workforce, reimbursement and payment models, new technologies, and service delivery models.
Author(s): Lucas A. Berenbrok, Delesha Carpenter, Teresa M. Salgado, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 4(10)
Date: 10/2026
view details
Describes pharmacy access in the United States, including discussions of "pharmacy desert" definitions by rurality, drivers of recent pharmacy desert trends, and the impact of pharmacy deserts on health outcomes. Highlights potential policy strategies for addressing pharmacy deserts with focus on the pharmacy workforce, reimbursement and payment models, new technologies, and service delivery models.
Author(s): Lucas A. Berenbrok, Delesha Carpenter, Teresa M. Salgado, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 4(10)
Date: 10/2026
view details
Roots of Prosperity: How Community Assets Create the Conditions for Rural Entrepreneurship
Reports on the community factors that influence entrepreneurship in rural areas, including natural, social, infrastructural, financial, and other forms of community capital. Uses Bozeman, Montana, and surrounding Gallatin County as a case study.
Author(s): Amanda Weinstein, Adam Dewbury, Olivia Galloway, et al.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Capital One Insights Center, Center on Rural Innovation
view details
Reports on the community factors that influence entrepreneurship in rural areas, including natural, social, infrastructural, financial, and other forms of community capital. Uses Bozeman, Montana, and surrounding Gallatin County as a case study.
Author(s): Amanda Weinstein, Adam Dewbury, Olivia Galloway, et al.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Capital One Insights Center, Center on Rural Innovation
view details
Strengthening Telehealth Skills for the Rural Healthcare Workforce
Provides links to training materials, tools, and technical assistance resources to help rural healthcare organizations build telehealth workforce capacity. Covers telehealth fundamentals, workforce development, clinical best practices, patient engagement, technology and innovation, emergency preparedness, reimbursement and sustainability, and regional support.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers
view details
Provides links to training materials, tools, and technical assistance resources to help rural healthcare organizations build telehealth workforce capacity. Covers telehealth fundamentals, workforce development, clinical best practices, patient engagement, technology and innovation, emergency preparedness, reimbursement and sustainability, and regional support.
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers
view details
Philanthropic Funding Helps Rural Providers Access Ultrasound Equipment and Training
Discusses the benefits of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) for rural patients and facilities. Describes funding from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust for POCUS equipment and training and shares experiences of rural Minnesota and North Dakota providers who received this support.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Discusses the benefits of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) for rural patients and facilities. Describes funding from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust for POCUS equipment and training and shares experiences of rural Minnesota and North Dakota providers who received this support.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Survival Versus Scale: The Effects of Critical Access Hospital Designation
Explores whether designation-based hospital subsidies, specifically the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) program, preserve meaningful access to care. Describes the effects of CAH designation on hospital finances, capacity, and organizational outcomes between 1995-2010. Discusses the implications of hospital preservation and reduced operational scale on access to care and patient health.
Author(s): Ian M. McCarthy, Katie Leinenbach
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Bureau of Economic Research
view details
Explores whether designation-based hospital subsidies, specifically the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) program, preserve meaningful access to care. Describes the effects of CAH designation on hospital finances, capacity, and organizational outcomes between 1995-2010. Discusses the implications of hospital preservation and reduced operational scale on access to care and patient health.
Author(s): Ian M. McCarthy, Katie Leinenbach
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Bureau of Economic Research
view details