Topics: Abuse and violence

For more information and resources, see RHIhub’s Violence and Abuse topic guide.

Violence Against Hospital Workers: Growing Awareness, Rural Interventions, and Why It Still Goes Unreported

Healthcare workers are four times more likely to be seriously injured on the job than other professionals. Research, tools, and campaigns are equipping rural hospital leaders to better protect their employees and develop a culture of safety.

Wildfires. Child abuse. Sexual assault. The negative and ongoing effects of these experiences are the reason communities and medical providers are using an approach called trauma-informed care. This article features ways trauma is understood and treated in a rural community, a Wyoming pediatrician’s clinic, and for nurses providing assault exams.

Rural healthcare facilities must plan and prepare for a wide range of natural and man-made disasters. A tornado in Iowa, an earthquake in Alaska, and an armed hostage standoff in South Dakota provide lessons in how rural providers can help ensure the safety of their patients, staff, and community in difficult circumstances.

For many rural Americans, distance to a specialty healthcare center hundreds of miles away makes for a long, uncomfortable, and expensive trip. In the past several decades, dozens of charitable flight services have cropped up to transport rural veterans, cancer patients, the chronically ill, and even abused children to treatment.

In this in-depth story, multiple clinical issues surrounding domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence (IPV) in rural settings are discussed by providers, researchers, and those serving indigenous populations. Rural prevalence rates, provider knowledge gaps, and healthcare expenditures are also reviewed.

Late life domestic violence, considered by some to be a subcategory of elder abuse, also needs the attention of healthcare providers. Hear from researchers about prevalence, screening, costs, and legal issues, in addition to work being done in indigenous populations.

Alaska’s Southcentral Foundation has a specific solution to Native Alaskan domestic violence issues: the Family Wellness Warriors Initiative.

The connection between bullying and youth suicide in rural Union Parish, Louisiana, led a Critical Access Hospital to create an anti-bullying program. Together with local law enforcement, they teach students in elementary through high school the negative effects of peer victimization and how to model positive social behavior.

Studies show that the more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) one has, the higher the risk of chronic health conditions, anxiety disorders, low life potential, and even early death. A sense of urgency for early intervention spurred one western North Carolina school district and a Native American tribe in Wisconsin to act. Read more about how their programs confront ACEs and build resiliency to overcome them.

The Rural Monitor

Articles and resources on key rural health issues, from the Rural Health Information Hub

Topics: Abuse and violence

Violence Against Hospital Workers: Growing Awareness, Rural Interventions, and Why It Still Goes Unreported

Rising from the Ashes: How Trauma-Informed Care Nurtures Healing in Rural America

Planning and Partnerships: Coordinating Rural Resources for Emergency Preparedness and Response

Taking Flight: Charity Airplane Services Transport Patients to Medical Care

Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence: Some Do’s and Don’ts for Health Providers

Indigenous People and Domestic Violence: Who’s Bringing Solutions

Together We Can Be Bully Free: CAH and Law Enforcement Address Peer Victimization through School-Based Program

Confronting Adverse Childhood Experiences to Improve Rural Kids’ Lifelong Health