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Rural Health Information Hub

Healthcare Access in Rural Communities – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Healthcare Access in Rural Communities.

Making it Work: Models of Success in Rural Maternity Care
Describes factors that underlie 3 successful models of rural maternity care and informs communities, clinicians, and hospitals wishing to keep obstetric services available on the local level. Includes information from interviews conducted at facilities in Baldwin, Wisconsin; Lakin, Kansas; and Russelville, Arkansas.
Author(s): Katy B. Kozhimannil, Carrie Henning-Smith, Megan Lahr, Mary Gilbertson
Date: 11/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Insurer Participation on the ACA Marketplaces, 2014-2021
Reports on the changes in health insurer participation in the ACA marketplace from 2014 to 2021 for all counties in the U.S. in chart, table, and interactive map formats.
Additional links: County-Specific Data
Author(s): Daniel McDermott, Cynthia Cox
Date: 11/2020
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Addressing Rural Health Disparities in a Pandemic
Public Health Review podcast in which 3 speakers discuss the impact of COVID-19 on rural health infrastructure and workforce. Describes how to improve conditions in rural communities, increase access to quality healthcare, and implement innovative strategies for health workforce recruitment and retention.
Date: 08/2020
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Rural Interfacility Emergency Department Transfers: Framework and Qualitative Analysis
Examines the transfer for rural emergency patients to other facilities across 2 urban and 5 rural Veterans Health Administration facilities. Discusses 3 factors that influence the decision of transferring a patient: patient factors, system resources, and clinical and administrative processes.
Author(s): Candace D. McNaughton, Kemberlee Bonnet, David Schlundt, et al.
Citation: The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 21(4), 858-865
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
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Individual Market Volatility and Vulnerability, 2015 to 2019
Study examining health insurance options and premium prices from 2015-2019, including rural/urban differences. Provides data and statistics on market volatility and vulnerability, with information broken down by population, race, health status, number of hospital beds, and more.
Author(s): Jean Marie Abraham
Citation: RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 6(2): 206–22
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
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Health Care Access for Infants and Toddlers in Rural Areas
Research brief describing how rural children are more likely to face a unique combination of challenges that negatively impact their health and development, such as fewer healthcare providers, barriers to accessing care, and higher rates of poverty. Includes rural/urban comparisons for each state, with information on the percentage of infants and toddlers lacking health insurance, receiving recommended vaccinations, attending a preventive medical appointment, and more.
Author(s): Jessie Laurore, Gayane Baziyants, Sarah Daily
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Child Trends
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Loss of Hospital-based Obstetric Services in Rural Counties in the United States, 2004-2018
Line chart showing the percent of micropolitan and noncore counties that had hospital-based obstetric care from 2004 through 2018.
Author(s): Katy B Kozhimannil, Julia D Interrante, Mariana S Tuttle
Date: 07/2020
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Left Out: Barriers to Health Equity for Rural and Underserved Communities
Summarizes responses to a Request for Information from the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee's Rural and Underserved Communities Health Task Force. Describes factors contributing to healthcare challenges in rural areas, including demographics, social and structural determinants of health, insurance coverage, access to care, and workforce shortages. Highlights promising models of healthcare delivery in rural areas. Includes state-by-state health equity maps.
Additional links: State and Territory Health Equity Maps, Summary
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: House Ways and Means Committee
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Improving Rural Health: State Policy Options for Increasing Access to Care
Discusses strategies from state legislatures and other stakeholders to increase access to healthcare in rural areas. Focuses on policies and policy options for state legislatures in three areas: improving health insurance coverage, safeguarding rural health facilities, and changing rural healthcare delivery. Features examples from Colorado, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Author(s): Jack Pitsor
Date: 06/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Conference of State Legislatures
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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
Type: Document
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Last Updated: 3/12/2024