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Rural Health Information Hub

COVID-19 – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on COVID-19.

Reaching Out to People Who Live in Rural Areas about Medicaid and CHIP Renewals
Information and resources for communicating with people enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP about how to maintain health insurance coverage. Includes strategies specific to reaching people living in rural areas.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Death Rates Among Maintenance Dialysis Patients During Delta and Early Omicron Waves — United States, June 30, 2021–September 27, 2022
Reports on SARS-CoV-2 infection incidence and COVID-19 related deaths among maintenance dialysis patients by wave of infection for the Delta, first Omicron, and second Omicron waves. Includes data by urbanicity for metropolitan, rural, and noncore areas.
Author(s): Jose Navarrete, Gregory Barone, Iram Qureshi, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 72(32), 871-876
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Forming Partnerships to Increase Rural Immunization Rates
Discusses barriers to vaccine uptake in rural communities. Describes how two community organizations worked to increase vaccinations in rural Alabama and how a network led by the National Center for Farmworker Health built the capacity to distribute COVID-19 vaccines and build vaccine confidence among migrant farmworkers. Identifies state considerations for implementing community-based programs to increase vaccinations in rural areas.
Author(s): Shalini Nair, Heather Tomlinson
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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COVID-19 Impact on Dental Service Delivery, Financing, Regulation, and Education Systems: An Environmental Scan
Describes the immediate and longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental care delivery, regulation, education, and finance. Mentions rural throughout.
Author(s): Margaret Langelier, Aubri Kottek, Theekshana Fernando, et al.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Oral Health Workforce Research Center
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Changes in Telehealth Experienced by Advanced Practice RNs During COVID-19
Summarizes 7,467 advanced practice RNs' national survey responses from June-September 2020 about the use of telehealth before and during the pandemic, and analyzes free-text comments about how the use of telehealth changed during the pandemic. Discusses challenges in rural areas, including provider shortages and lack of broadband access.
Author(s): Mavis N. Schorn, Carole R. Myers, Julie Barroso, et al.
Citation: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 41(7), 507–513
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
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Although IHS Allocated COVID-19 Testing Funds to Meet Community Needs, It Did Not Ensure That the Funds Were Always Used in Accordance with Federal Requirements
Presents results of an audit of Indian Health Service (IHS) funds for COVID-19 testing. Examines if 10 IHS Direct, Tribal, and Urban Indian Organizations (UIO) in the Great Plains Area Office allocated COVID-19 testing funds to meet community needs, the effectiveness of the funding allocation, and if the funding was used in accordance with federal requirements. Outlines recommendations to IHS, as well as IHS comments and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector General's response.
Additional links: Report in Brief
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Unvaccinated Adolescents' COVID-19 Vaccine Intentions: Implications for Public Health Messaging
Examines factors related to COVID-19 vaccine intentions in the U.S. adolescent population. Analyzes April 2021 survey data of 831 unvaccinated respondents regarding their vaccine hesitancy or acceptance according to age, gender, rurality, race/ethnicity, and concerns over COVID-19 infection and vaccine side effects, as well as additional factors impacting their vaccination decisions.
Author(s): Grace W. Ryan, Natoshia M. Askelson, Kate R. Woodworth, et al.
Citation: Journal of Adolescent Health, 73(4), 679-685
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
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Targeted Provider Relief Funds Allocated to Hospitals Had Some Differences with Respect to the Ethnicity and Race of Populations Served
Examines how early Provider Relief Fund Targeted Distributions (Targeted PRF) in 2020 correlated with the racial, ethnic, and economic characteristics of the communities providers serve. Analyzes the Targeted PRF allocations to hospitals and explores if there are statistically significant correlations between PRF per person and the racial, ethnic, and economic composition of the census tracts. Covers four Targeted PRF allocations to COVID-19 High Impact Area Hospitals, Safety Net Hospitals, Rural Hospitals, and Indian Health Service and Tribal Hospitals. Identifies and describes trends in the allotment to rural hospitals.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Association of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Changes in Patterns of Cancer-Related Mortality in the United States
Analyzes the cancer mortality rate during the 2020 year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-pandemic years. Utilizes the 2015-2020 Multiple Cause of Death database to examine mortality by sex, race/ethnicity, urban versus rural residence, and place of death.
Author(s): Jingxuan Zhao, Xuesong Han, Kimberly D. Miller, et al.
Citation: JCO Oncology Practice, 19(7), 501-508
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
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We Are All in This Together: Rurality, Social Cohesion, and COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors
Examines how social cohesion, rurality, and individual behaviors to prevent COVID-19 are related. Analyzes 2,926 participant survey responses in 2021 according to COVID-19 experiences and attitudes, social distancing behaviors, and tendencies to remain home while sick, with data broken down by demographic variables such as rural versus urban, age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, and marriage status. Discusses the importance of understanding rural culture and behaviors when communicating public health strategies.
Author(s): Radhika Sood, Juliette Entenman, Erin Kitt-Lewis, et al.
Citation: The Journal of Rural Health, 40(1), 154-161
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
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Last Updated: 11/9/2023