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Rural Health
Resources by Type: Document

Examination of Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Rurality in Appalachian Children
Results of a study to examine risk factors in a representative sample of 73,014 5th grade students from West Virginia. Features statistics including breakdowns by six levels of population density, sex, race, mother's education, body-mass index, blood pressure, and levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.
Author(s): Christa L. Lilly, Amna Umer, L. Cottrell, L. Pyles, W. Neal
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 17(1), 4200
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
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Trends in Suicide by Level of Urbanization — United States, 1999–2015
Reports on suicide rates from 1999–2015, with data for metropolitan, micropolitan, and non-core (rural) areas. Discusses possible causes for geographic disparities in suicide rates, including limited access to mental health care, social isolation, and the opioid overdose epidemic. Also discusses the widening gap beginning in 2007-2008, which may relate to the impact of the recession on rural areas.
Author(s): Scott R. Kegler, Deborah M. Stone, Kristin M. Holland
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 66(10), 270-273
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Differences in Health Care, Family, and Community Factors Associated with Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders Among Children Aged 2–8 Years in Rural and Urban Areas — United States, 2011–2012
Provides rural and urban data on a variety of health-related factors for children 2-8 years of age with and without mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders. Topics addressed include demographics, health insurance coverage, having a medical home, parental mental health, family financial difficulties, and community factors.
Author(s): Lara R. Robinson, Joseph R. Holbrook, Rebecca H. Bitsko, et al.
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 66(8), 1-11
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2017
Provides an annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussions on Medicare payment policies that directly affect rural providers and beneficiaries. Analyses payment adequacy for home health, skilled nursing, long-term care hospitals, hospice, ambulatory surgical centers, and rehabilitation facilities.
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Community Health Workers Get Trained to Reduce Oral Health Disparities
Highlights programs serving the Navajo Nation, Texas colonias, and Appalachian Maryland that use community health workers to provide oral health education and improve access dental care.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Selected Health Conditions Among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Adults: United States, 2014
Reports on health conditions among the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population, compared to the Asian population with which this group has historically been associated. Includes data on cancer, heart disease, diabetes, lower back pain, arthritis, severe headaches, and asthma. Based on data from the 2014 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander National Health Interview Survey and the 2014 National Health Interview Survey.
Author(s): Adena M. Galinsky, Carla E. Zelaya, Patricia M. Barnes, Catherine Simile
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Residing in Economically Distressed Rural Appalachia is Independently Associated with Excess Body Weight in College Students
Results of a study comparing body weights and obesity risks of college students aged 18-25 years, 55 of whom who were lifelong residents of rural Eastern Appalachian Kentucky and 54 from urban central Kentucky. Features statistics including age, education, gender, race or ethnicity, insurance status, household income, and health behaviors, with breakdowns by rural or urban status.
Author(s): Demetrius Abshire, Terry Lennie, Gia Mudd-Martin, Debra Moser
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 17(1), 3984
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
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Emerging Strategies to Ensure Access to Health Care Services: Indian Health Services Strategy
Outlines federal policy solutions and facility-level strategies to improve care coordination between Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities and other healthcare providers.
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Veterans' Health Care: Preliminary Observations on Veterans' Access to Choice Program Care
Reports on the Veterans Choice Program, which allows veterans to receive care from non-VA providers if certain conditions are met. Outlines the process the VA has established for scheduling appointments, discusses what is known about the timeliness of appointments for routine and urgent care, and lays out plans to improve the timeliness of the Choice Program.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Health Care Innovation Awards (HCIA) Meta-Analysis and Evaluators Collaborative: Annual Report Year 2
Highlights key implementation and impact findings across 108 Health Care Innovation Awards (HCIA) grant recipients, based on work by 7 independent evaluators. Includes discussion of project experiences in rural areas.
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
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