Kentucky Resources
Understanding Declining Rates of Drug Overdose Mortality in Eastern Kentucky
Identifies policies and strategies that might have contributed to the decline in drug overdose mortality in the 5-year periods from 2008-2012 to 2013-2017 in eight counties in eastern Kentucky. Offers recommendations for approaches that could be implemented in other communities. Includes statistics on overdose mortality in 8 eastern Kentucky counties; a county-level map showing changes in rates of overdose mortality in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Ohio; and a graph showing rates of overdose mortality in the Appalachian counties of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia from 1999-2019.
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organizations: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health
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Identifies policies and strategies that might have contributed to the decline in drug overdose mortality in the 5-year periods from 2008-2012 to 2013-2017 in eight counties in eastern Kentucky. Offers recommendations for approaches that could be implemented in other communities. Includes statistics on overdose mortality in 8 eastern Kentucky counties; a county-level map showing changes in rates of overdose mortality in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Ohio; and a graph showing rates of overdose mortality in the Appalachian counties of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia from 1999-2019.
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organizations: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health
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Traffic Safety in Appalachia: Final Report
Defines the traffic safety culture in Appalachia and discusses causes of common safety problems in the region, including drug- and alcohol-impaired driving. Explores environmental concerns of Appalachian drivers, such as expansive rural regions, mountainous and curved terrain, and dense forests exposed to extreme weather elements. Includes analysis of Appalachian traffic fatalities, fatal crash data statistics, and an evaluation of the Appalachian Development Highway System as a possible intervention measure for treating traffic safety problems. Also includes a case study of severe crashes in Appalachian North Carolina, featuring statistics with breakdowns by rural and urban areas.
Additional links: Research Brief
Author(s): Wesley Kumfer, Katherine Harmon, Bo Lan, et al.
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: Appalachian Regional Commission
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Defines the traffic safety culture in Appalachia and discusses causes of common safety problems in the region, including drug- and alcohol-impaired driving. Explores environmental concerns of Appalachian drivers, such as expansive rural regions, mountainous and curved terrain, and dense forests exposed to extreme weather elements. Includes analysis of Appalachian traffic fatalities, fatal crash data statistics, and an evaluation of the Appalachian Development Highway System as a possible intervention measure for treating traffic safety problems. Also includes a case study of severe crashes in Appalachian North Carolina, featuring statistics with breakdowns by rural and urban areas.
Additional links: Research Brief
Author(s): Wesley Kumfer, Katherine Harmon, Bo Lan, et al.
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: Appalachian Regional Commission
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The Improved Health Outcomes Program (iHOP): A Unique Model to Promote Provider-Driven Research in a Medicaid Population
Describes the iHOP program, a grant-funded partnership between a Medicaid managed care insurer, the University of Louisville, and healthcare providers in Kentucky. The program operated from 2007-2018 and was designed to address the healthcare needs of Medicaid and uninsured populations across the state. Includes information on specific project initiatives, including those focused on special populations such as refugees, Latinos, and rural individuals.
Author(s): Tara J. Schapmire, Jill Bell, Mark. P. Pfeifer
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(14), 5079
Date: 07/2020
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Describes the iHOP program, a grant-funded partnership between a Medicaid managed care insurer, the University of Louisville, and healthcare providers in Kentucky. The program operated from 2007-2018 and was designed to address the healthcare needs of Medicaid and uninsured populations across the state. Includes information on specific project initiatives, including those focused on special populations such as refugees, Latinos, and rural individuals.
Author(s): Tara J. Schapmire, Jill Bell, Mark. P. Pfeifer
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(14), 5079
Date: 07/2020
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Geographic Variation in the Structure of Kentucky's Population Health Systems: An Urban, Rural, and Appalachian Comparison
Examines differences in key characteristics of population health systems in Kentucky, using data from a 2018 statewide survey of community networks. Features statistics on implementation of population health activities, with breakdowns by urban, rural non-Appalachian, and rural Appalachian public health jurisdictions.
Author(s): Rachel Hogg-Graham, Angela Carman, Glen P. Mays, Pierre Martin Dominique Zephyr
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 2(3), 14-25
Date: 07/2020
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Examines differences in key characteristics of population health systems in Kentucky, using data from a 2018 statewide survey of community networks. Features statistics on implementation of population health activities, with breakdowns by urban, rural non-Appalachian, and rural Appalachian public health jurisdictions.
Author(s): Rachel Hogg-Graham, Angela Carman, Glen P. Mays, Pierre Martin Dominique Zephyr
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 2(3), 14-25
Date: 07/2020
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Availability of Health Insurance Literacy Resources Fails to Meet Consumer Needs in Rural, Appalachian Communities: Implications for State Medicaid Waivers
Reports on the availability of health system and community‐based programs promoting health insurance literacy and supporting informed consumer healthcare decision-making in rural Kentucky. Findings are based on focus groups and interviews conducted with healthcare providers, community health workers, patient navigators, and others primarily serving rural Appalachian counties in the state.
Author(s): Jean Edward, Robin Thompson, Andrea Jaramillo
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 06/2020
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Reports on the availability of health system and community‐based programs promoting health insurance literacy and supporting informed consumer healthcare decision-making in rural Kentucky. Findings are based on focus groups and interviews conducted with healthcare providers, community health workers, patient navigators, and others primarily serving rural Appalachian counties in the state.
Author(s): Jean Edward, Robin Thompson, Andrea Jaramillo
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 06/2020
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Effective Communication and Consistency in Increasing Rural Vaccination Rates
Discusses barriers to vaccination in rural areas and strategies to improve vaccination rates. Features efforts in a Louisiana Rural Health Clinic (RHC) and in rural Kentucky high schools that are increasing vaccination rates.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 09/2019
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Discusses barriers to vaccination in rural areas and strategies to improve vaccination rates. Features efforts in a Louisiana Rural Health Clinic (RHC) and in rural Kentucky high schools that are increasing vaccination rates.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 09/2019
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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HIV Testing in 50 Local Jurisdictions Accounting for the Majority of New HIV Diagnoses and Seven States with Disproportionate Occurrence of HIV in Rural Areas, 2016–2017
Reports on HIV testing in 50 local jurisdictions where most new diagnoses of HIV infection in 2016 and 2017 were found and in 7 states with high rural rates of HIV. Includes rural-urban data on HIV testing for Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.
Author(s): Marc A. Pitasi, Kevin P. Delaney, John T. Brooks, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 68(25), 561-567
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Reports on HIV testing in 50 local jurisdictions where most new diagnoses of HIV infection in 2016 and 2017 were found and in 7 states with high rural rates of HIV. Includes rural-urban data on HIV testing for Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.
Author(s): Marc A. Pitasi, Kevin P. Delaney, John T. Brooks, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 68(25), 561-567
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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SOAR Impact Report 2019
Annual report from Shaping Our Appalachian Region, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding job creation, improving quality of life, and enhancing opportunity, innovation, and identity in Appalachian Kentucky. Includes a section on the UNITE Rural Health Opioid Program, a Kentucky River Region initiative begun in January 2019 with the goal of reducing morbidity and mortality related to opioid use disorders.
Date: 2019
Sponsoring organization: Shaping Our Appalachian Region
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Annual report from Shaping Our Appalachian Region, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding job creation, improving quality of life, and enhancing opportunity, innovation, and identity in Appalachian Kentucky. Includes a section on the UNITE Rural Health Opioid Program, a Kentucky River Region initiative begun in January 2019 with the goal of reducing morbidity and mortality related to opioid use disorders.
Date: 2019
Sponsoring organization: Shaping Our Appalachian Region
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Does a Program That Focuses on Lifestyle Changes Reduce Heart Disease Risk Factors in a Rural Community in Appalachian Kentucky?
Examines a tailored, culturally appropriate cardiovascular disease self-care intervention, HeartHealth, compared to a model of patient referrals to a primary care provider for standard care for cardiovascular risk factors in a rural Appalachian Kentucky community.
Author(s): Debra K. Moser, Frances Feltner, Martha J. Biddle, et al.
Date: 2019
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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Examines a tailored, culturally appropriate cardiovascular disease self-care intervention, HeartHealth, compared to a model of patient referrals to a primary care provider for standard care for cardiovascular risk factors in a rural Appalachian Kentucky community.
Author(s): Debra K. Moser, Frances Feltner, Martha J. Biddle, et al.
Date: 2019
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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Rural and Appalachian Disparities in Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Incidence and Access to Opioid Abuse Treatment
Examines the disparity of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) prevalence in Appalachian and non-Appalachian Kentucky and in comparison to national data. Considers why data from this study may or may not be useful in identifying regional and national trends. Also discusses the challenges of providing substance use treatment to pregnant women and Appalachian populations.
Author(s): Joshua D. Brown, Amie J. Goodin, Jeffrey C. Talbert
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 34(1), 6-13
Date: 12/2018
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Examines the disparity of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) prevalence in Appalachian and non-Appalachian Kentucky and in comparison to national data. Considers why data from this study may or may not be useful in identifying regional and national trends. Also discusses the challenges of providing substance use treatment to pregnant women and Appalachian populations.
Author(s): Joshua D. Brown, Amie J. Goodin, Jeffrey C. Talbert
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 34(1), 6-13
Date: 12/2018
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Additional resources are available. See a full list of Kentucky Resources.