Pivoting from a universal question, “How’d you sleep?” clinical sleep experts, a federal public health agency representative, and Nebraska Extension discussed sleep’s impact on rural health and public safety.
Read More
Across the rural West, an awareness of the health impacts of poor air quality – and how to minimize those impacts – is growing.
Read More
A skilled nursing facility in New Hampshire and national experts share the benefits telehealth services can bring to the residents and staff of rural long-term care facilities as well as the challenges some facilities face in providing these services.
Read More
Rural mortality rates had been improving until recent years when a perfect storm of the opioid epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic converged to reverse these gains. However, federally funded efforts have sought to stem the tide through community, clinical, and policy efforts.
Read More
For the 240,000 rural Americans with complete kidney failure, it’s likely that very few knew they even had kidney disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, kidney disease is usually silent; 90% of people with kidney disease don’t know they have it. With research pointing to the high costs of kidney disease for pediatric and adult patients alike — mostly covered by Medicare — experts and researchers discuss rural disparities around access to disease-stabilizing treatment and to renal replacement therapies.
Read More
Nuclear weapons testing from 1945 to 1962 and uranium mining from 1943 to 1971 exposed workers and community members living near the mines or testing sites to harmful levels of radiation that can lead to cancer and other illnesses. Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program (RESEP) grants help healthcare organizations provide screenings, referrals for medical treatment, and other services to this population. Two grantees, the Navajo Area RESEP and the Southwestern Utah RESEP, share their stories.
Read More
A common health condition, epilepsy impacts rural populations in many ways, including the ability to drive. Medical and public health experts join an advocacy organization to review the condition’s impact and outline rural management approaches — including seizure first aid.
Read More
Researchers and rural communities are working together to address rural cancer prevention and control, with federal funding supporting a wide range of projects. From targeting health behaviors, to making cancer screening and vaccination more accessible, to increasing rural participation in clinical trials, efforts to reduce rural cancer burden are underway across the country.
Read More
Essentia Health created the Remote Patient Monitoring program to allow some patients to recover at home while still having access to medical attention. Program launch was accelerated to treat COVID-19 patients, but Essentia plans to continue the program after the pandemic to treat other chronic diseases.
Read More
On the list of leading causes of death, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, impacts millions of rural Americans and their quality of life. Though limited treatments are available for COPD, research indicates that pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) provides major benefits, yet is currently under-prescribed and facing challenges from COVID-19 and from reimbursement policies. Researchers discuss the potential that tele-PR might bring to rural areas, and rural healthcare leaders highlight the benefits of their PR programs for service areas.
Read More