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Rural Health
Resources by Type: Document

"COVID Has Taken Its Toll on Us": The Pervasive Effects of COVID-19 on Programs Supporting Native People Who Have Experienced Human Trafficking
Examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Demonstration Grants to Strengthen the Response to Victims of Human Trafficking in Native Communities (VHTNC) recipients. Utilizes data from award recipients' performance progress reports (PPRs) as well as 2022-2023 interviews. Discusses issues such as project implementation, trafficking vulnerability, participant identification, collaboration, and service delivery, including those in rural and remote areas.
Author(s): Elizabeth Tibaduiza, Rebecca Pfeffer, Liat Weinstein, Christina Melander
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Administration for Children and Families, RTI International
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Association Between Sociodemographics and Change in Alcohol or Tobacco Use Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Presents a study exploring the changes in alcohol and tobacco use during the COVID-19 pandemic and aims to identify correlating sociodemographic factors. Breaks down survey data by sociodemographic markers, such as age, sex, and rural versus urban location, among other factors.
Author(s): Selam Habtemariam, Chloe M. Hery, Xiaochen Zhang, et al.
Citation: PLoS ONE, 19(5), e0304111
Date: 05/2024
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Facilitators and Barriers to Passing Local Policies That Prohibit the Sale of Flavored Tobacco Products: Qualitative Analysis of Strategies Implemented by 36 Communities in California, 2017–2021
Examines the success rate of implementing local polices that prohibit flavored tobacco sales in California. Analyzes both rural and urban communities and discusses barriers and facilitators to policy adoption.
Author(s): Sarah Hellesen, Sue Haun, Melanie S. Dove
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 21
Date: 05/2024
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Listening to the Community: Identifying Obesity Prevention Strategies for Rural Preschool-Aged Children
Reports results from 4 workshops on obesity prevention initiatives for preschool-aged children in 2 rural North Carolina and Indiana counties. Provides data and discussion on participants' preferred intervention strategies and community settings, with additional discussion of implementation challenges and options for immediate interventions which could be implemented with limited funding.
Author(s): Katherine Jochim Pope, Alexandra F. Lightfoot, Lisa Macon Harrison, et al.
Citation: Frontiers in Public Health, 12
Date: 05/2024
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Tribally-Led Mobile Outreach: Improving Access to Harm Reduction Services in One Rural Reservation Community
Presents a study on the efficacy of a tribally-run mobile outreach service to deliver opioid harm reduction information and services. Breaks down type of services offered, the organizational reach, and population served.
Author(s): Allyson Kelley, Kellie Webb, Katherine Hirchak, et al.
Citation: Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1383729
Date: 05/2024
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Food Deserts and Hypertension Prevalence in the Central Valley
Policy brief analyzing the association between food deserts and hypertension by census tract in San Joaquin Valley, California. Includes color-coded census tract maps. Mentions high incidence of hypertension and food deserts in rural areas.
Author(s): G. Mendoza, E. Alcala
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Central Valley Health Policy Institute
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Overdose Responses among Rural People Who Use Drugs: A Multi-Regional Qualitative Study
Analyzes qualitative data from seven Rural Opioid Initiative studies on peer responses to overdose. Identifies themes related to naloxone administration, overdose reversal strategies, willingness to call 911, perceptions of first responders, and access to medical intervention. Discusses public health approaches to increasing access to care and effectiveness of overdose response in rural areas.
Author(s): Robin Baker, Rob J. Fredericksen, Abby E. Rudolph, et al.
Citation: Harm Reduction Journal, 21, 107
Date: 05/2024
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The Implications of Using Maternity Care Deserts to Measure Progress in Access to Obstetric Care: A Mixed-Integer Optimization Analysis
Compares geographic access to critical care obstetric (CCO) services in Georgia via a county-level maternal care desert model versus a model of census blocks further than 50 miles from CCO services. Uses each model to estimate how expansion of facilities would affect access to care, and also to estimate race and ethnicity, insurance status, age, and poverty rate of reproductive-aged women with limited access to care using 2017 American Community Survey data.
Author(s): Meghan E. Meredith, Lauren N. Steimle, Stephanie M. Radke
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 24, 682
Date: 05/2024
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Pandemic-Era Trends in Telehealth Use among Americans with Private Health Insurance
Brief analyzing telehealth use between 2019 and 2021 for people younger than 65 with private health insurance. Discusses the impact of COVID-19 on telehealth use. Analyzes data by various factors such as age, rurality, access, broadband availability, and more. Discusses policy implications related to broadband access, mental healthcare provider shortages, costs, access, and equity. Includes both nationwide and state-by-state rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): Beth Carter, Olivia Dean, Alex Hartzman, Luis Arzaluz, Aiden Wynia
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: AARP Public Policy Institute
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The Role of Medical Education in Addressing Rural Physician Shortages
Discusses medical education strategies for recruiting rural physicians. Highlights grow-your-own programs, rural track programs, service orientation, and exposing rural kids to health careers.
Author(s): A. Brianna Sheppard
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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