Topics: Substance use and misuse

For more information and resources, see the Substance Use and Misuse topic guide and Rural Response to the Opioid Crisis topic guide.

How One New Mexico County is Taking a Community-Wide Approach to Treating Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders

A community consortium in McKinley County brings together a range of local organizations and entities to take a holistic approach to recovery.

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.

Parent Partners is a statewide program in Iowa that pairs families whose children have been removed from the home with mentors with shared experience who have successfully navigated the state’s Department of Human Services (DHS) system. These mentors coach, advocate, and connect their clients with community resources.

Three programs across rural America demonstrate how doulas improve birth outcomes by providing prenatal, labor, and postpartum support. A New Mexico program reaches American Indian, Hispanic, and other populations who lack nearby labor/delivery units; a Minnesota program works with moms experiencing incarceration; and a North Dakota program is training postpartum doulas who will care for families impacted by opioid use disorder and other substance use.

After their county ranked number seven in the nation for opioid related deaths, the community of Fayette County, Ohio created Pathways to Recovery, with programs designed to educate providers and law enforcement, prevent overdoses, reduce harm, and encourage recovery through the use of Peer Support Specialists.

Though often considered an urban problem, homelessness also affects rural individuals and families, impacting their health and well-being. A Vermont nonprofit leader shares her organization’s work using the evidence-based solution Housing First and reminds us that for many, homelessness is just “one catastrophic event away.”

Kim Barber Tieman, program director for health and human services for the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, shares how her foundation set up a COVID-19 grant capture team and funded grant writers to help organizations navigate and apply for federal funding opportunities. In addition, her foundation worked with organizations and funded three mobile COVID testing units to better reach communities of color.

Tribal communities have been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Serving the four federally recognized tribes in Maine, Wabanaki Public Health is taking a stand to address these disparities. A recipient of the Rural Tribal COVID Response (RTCR) grant, they have implemented a number of programs to meet the needs of their communities, providing support by reinforcing cultural connection even in the most difficult of times.

From decreasing stigma to increasing treatment access and the impact of COVID-19, experts and rural healthcare organizations speak out on alcohol use and misuse in rural America.

In addition to information from federal agencies, a Missouri cardiologist reviews the science behind what often seems to be mixed messages concerning alcohol use and its impact on health and well-being

The Rural Monitor

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

Topics: Substance use and misuse

Wiping Away the Tears: Addressing Increasing Death in Rural America

Parent Partners Provide Mentoring and Support in Rural Iowa

Doulas Provide Support for Maternal and Infant Health in Rural Communities

Faith in Recovery Coalition Offers Hope for Opioid Use Disorder in Fayette County, Ohio

Alcohol Use Disorder: Addressing Stigma and Treatment Access in Rural America

The Alcoholic Beverage: An Elixir, and Yet a Poison?