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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Type: Document

Opioid Use Disorders: HHS Needs Measures to Assess the Effectiveness of Efforts to Expand Access to Medication-Assisted Treatment
Reviews U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) efforts to expand access to and the use of medication assisted treatment (MAT) for treating opioid use disorders. Includes a discussion of rural-specific programs and makes recommendations for improving future efforts and overall program evaluation.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2017
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Improving Health in the Mississippi Delta through Powerful Engagement
Describes financial, educational, and healthcare challenges experienced by residents in the Mississippi Delta. Discusses the Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation, a cancer awareness and prevention program working in rural, African American communities to create a network focused on education, outreach, and advocacy related to cancer.
Date: 10/2017
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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Examination of the Effect of SNAP Benefit and Eligibility Parameters on Low-Income Households
Examines whether or not policies determining benefit levels for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reflect current spending patterns of low-income households in the United States. Includes statistics, such as a rural versus urban comparison of low-income household spending and average spending by low-income household characteristic and expenditure type, among others.
Author(s): Joshua Leftin, Thomas Godfrey, James Mabli, Nancy Wemmerus, Stephen Tordella
Date: 10/2017
Sponsoring organizations: Decision Demographics and Mathematica Policy Research, USDA Food and Nutrition Service
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Disparities in Preventive Dental Care Among Children in Georgia
Examines access to preventive dental care between low-income children eligible for public dental insurance compared to children with private dental insurance and/or a high family income in Georgia. Assesses the effects of policies toward increasing access to dental care for low-income children. Includes a map illustrating the percent of children with financial access to preventive dental care for each county.
Author(s): Shanshan Cao, Monica Gentili, Paul M. Griffin, Susan O. Griffin, Nicoleta Serban
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 14
Date: 10/2017
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Maryland Food Charter: A Roadmap to a Healthy and Sustainable Food System
Details the values, goals, and recommendations of food system stakeholders throughout Maryland and encourages coordination and collaboration for a healthy, equitable, economically and environmentally sustainable food system. Includes recommendations for the five major food system sectors: production and processing, distribution, access, consumption, and recovery.
Date: 10/2017
Sponsoring organization: The Institute for Public Health Innovation
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Mountain-Pacific Quality Health Pilot: Closing the Gaps in Rural Complex Care
Profiles Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, a nonprofit corporation that established a pilot program to improve the health of rural patients through the use of technology and interdisciplinary care teams working together in Montana's Flathead Valley. Describes a $1 million innovation award from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to support their use of ReSource Teams and help care for high-cost, high-need Medicare patients in the region.
Additional links: Case Study: Shared Military Background Helps Community Health Workers Connect with Patients in Rural Montana
Date: 10/2017
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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NIEHS/EPA Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers Impact Report
Highlights progress made toward reducing the impact of environmentally induced diseases on children. Includes examples of how exposure to pollutants in rural areas could make children's asthma worse or increase the chances of autism spectrum disorder in children of mothers exposed to pesticides during pregnancy.
Date: 10/2017
Sponsoring organizations: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Marketing Strategies to Encourage Rural Residents of High-Obesity Counties to Buy Fruits and Vegetables in Grocery Stores
Examines the relationship between 17 rural Appalachian Kentucky grocery stores' social marketing efforts to promote healthy eating and the frequency of fruit and vegetable purchases. Features statistics on survey participants' demographics and influence of recipe cards on purchase of ingredients including fruits and vegetables.
Author(s): Emily Liu, Tammy Stephenson, Jessica Houlihan, Alison Gustafson
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 14
Date: 10/2017
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Veterans Health Administration: Better Data and Evaluation Could Help Improve Physician Staffing, Recruitment, and Retention Strategies
Reviews the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) recruitment and retention strategies, specifically for VHA physicians working in the five areas identified as mission-critical: primary care, mental health, gastroenterology, orthopedic surgery, and emergency medicine. Presents information on how many VHA physicians provide care, the extent VHA measures physician workload and productivity, and how current recruitment and retention strategies are evaluated. Addresses rural shortages and makes recommendations for improving VHA workforce development and planning based on interviews with VHA officials and a review of VHA documentation.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2017
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Illicit Drug Use, Illicit Drug Use Disorders, and Drug Overdose Deaths in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas — United States
Reports on trends in illicit drug use, illicit drug use disorders, and overdose deaths in large metropolitan, small metropolitan, and nonmetropolitan areas, based on 2003–2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data and 1999–2015 National Vital Statistics System Mortality (NVSS-M) data. Includes metro/nonmetro illicit drug use data by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, and household income. Includes data on metro/nonmetro drug overdose deaths by sex, race/ethnicity, intent (unintentional, homicide, suicide, undetermined), and age group.
Author(s): Karin A. Mack, Christopher M. Jones, Michael F. Ballesteros
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 66(19), 1-12
Date: 10/2017
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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