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Rural Health
Resources by Type: Document

Indicators of Healthy Aging: A Guide to Explore Healthy Aging Data through Community Health Improvement
Provides an overview for local health departments (LHDs) and partners to assess the components of healthy aging in their communities through research, data, and practice. Focuses on tracking health indicators and the social determinants of health (SDOH) and how to use data while considering community-level factors that impact healthcare access, demographics, location/rurality, Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) status, and more.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organizations: National Association of County and City Health Officials, Trust for America's Health
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Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Rural Versus Urban Veterans Health Administration Facilities
Explores rural veterans' access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) via the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) system. Highlights VHA efforts to expand access to MOUD within VHA facilities and aims to identify access levels for rural veterans via the VA's Community Care program. Breaks down data by type of MOUD and by rural or urban location.
Author(s): Jessica J. Wyse, Sarah Shull, Stephan Lindner, et al.
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 38(8), 1871-1876
Date: 06/2023
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A Rural Accountable Care Organization's Journey
Profiles South East Rural Physicians Alliance Accountable Care Organization (SERPA‐ACO), a physician‐led ACO consisting of 16 Nebraska clinics - 13 of which are rural. Describes various value-based payment models SERPA-ACO clinics participated in and activities the clinics use to succeed in these models. Includes recommendations for primary care clinics considering joining an ACO.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Strengthening Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement Approaches with Families: The Head Start REACH Case Study Report
Summarizes findings from the case studies of 6 urban and rural Head Start programs, including how Head Start programs identify families most in need of their services and how the programs reach and retain these families. Explores key themes about the eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance/retention approaches that programs use to reach and support them.
Author(s): Harshini Shah, Tosin Shenbanjo, Caroline Lauver, et al.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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Expanded Report to Congress: Non-Emergency Medical Transportation in Medicaid, 2018–2021
Examines the Medicaid analysis of non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) using Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) data from 2018-2021. Explores the number and percentage of Medicaid beneficiaries using NEMT, the average number of NEMT "ride days" per NEMT user per month enrolled in Medicaid, the types of medical services accessed when using NEMT, monthly trends in the use of NEMT versus telehealth services before and during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and the volume of NEMT services used by type of NEMT delivery model. Offers recommendations for states and local stakeholders regarding Medicaid coverage of NEMT. Presents data by state and by beneficiary characteristics, including Medicaid eligibility category, health conditions, and urban-rural location.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Equity, Multisector Collaboration and Innovation for Rural Health: Lessons from the National Rural Health Association Conference
Provides overview of topics discussed at the National Rural Health Association's Rural Health Equity Conference and Annual Rural Health Conference in May 2023 in San Diego, California. Topics include rural health equity, defining "rural," available data tools, community health workers, and more.
Author(s): Sagar B. Dugani, Randolph D. Hubach
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 23(2)
Date: 06/2023
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Predicting Firm Creation in Rural Texas: A Multi-Model Machine Learning Approach to a Complex Policy Problem
Evaluates Texas counties between 2008 and 2018 to identify factors contributing to entrepreneurship for rural areas. Discusses how healthcare, elder care, and child care predict growth in entrepreneurship. Compares predictive factors for rural areas with urban predictive factors. Makes recommendations for research, policy, and scholarship for rural entrepreneurship.
Author(s): Mark C. Hand, Vivek Shastry, Varun Rai
Citation: PLOS ONE, 18(6), e0287217
Date: 06/2023
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Advancing Economic Development in Persistent-Poverty Communities
Examines census tracts to identify areas of "persistent poverty," defined as an area with at least a 20% poverty rate for at least 30 years. Discusses the distribution of the persistently poor population between rural and urban areas and highlights specific regions such as the Southeast, Tribal areas, and Appalachia. Outlines contributors to persistent poverty including workforce development, lack of infrastructure, race and ethnicity, economic conditions, and more. Presents 4 case studies, including 2 rural studies, to highlight overall themes and make recommendations for improving conditions in persistently poor locations. Interactive map provides information and data on persistent poverty counties.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Interactive Map
Author(s): August Benzow, Kenan Fikri, Joanne Kim, Daniel Newman
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Economic Innovation Group
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Why is Wisconsin's Rural Population Growth Outpacing the Midwest?
Discusses rural population growth trends in Wisconsin with a focus on the impact of tourism and the COVID-19 pandemic. Provides data comparisons to other Midwestern states since 1980 as well as percentage of growth from 1990 to 2022 per rural county in Wisconsin.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Wisconsin Policy Forum
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Well-Being in Rural California 2023
Examines well-being in rural California according to indicators related to healthy life and longevity, access to knowledge and education, and income and standard of living. Utilizes the American human development index (HDI) and breaks data down by race, ethnicity, sex, neighborhood cluster, and Census tract.
Additional links: Data Download, Slides, Webinar
Author(s): Kristen Lewis
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Measure of America, NeighborWorks America
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