Rural Maternal Health – Resources

Improving Financial Access to Maternal and Infant Care in Rural Areas
A brief that discusses ways to improve maternal and infant healthcare access, with a focus on Medicaid initiatives, value-based care systems, and leveraging the perinatal workforce.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Understanding and Overcoming Barriers to Rural Training in Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellowships
Highlights a study on access to rural-focused family medicine obstetrics (FM OB) fellowships for family medicine residency graduates. Explores the availability of rural-specific FM OB fellowships and the challenges programs face in providing rurally-oriented training to family medicine physicians. Breaks down data by fellowship type, training curriculum, and rurality of location, among other measures.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Rural/Urban Differences in Access to Paid Sick Leave Among Full-Time Workers
Features a study on the accessibility of paid sick leave for full-time workers in rural and urban areas. Discusses the negative health outcomes of lacking paid sick leave. Highlights correlative factors, such as educational attainment, age, race, and chronic conditions, among others.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Janette Dill, Arianne Baldomero, Katy Backes Kozhimannil
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(3), 676-685
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
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Access to Maternity Providers: Midwives and Birth Centers
Provides an overview of the role of certified nurse-midwives and birth centers in Medicaid and how beneficiaries use these services. Describes policy issues and barriers to expanding access to midwives and birth centers, including payment policies; contracting with managed care organizations; licensure, certification, and accreditation; scope of practice; and limited supply. Includes rural considerations throughout.
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Summary, Bend, Oregon, April 26-28, 2023
Summarizes the 92nd meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Bend, Oregon. Presents an overview of national, tribal, and state perspectives on the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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American Indian and Alaskan Native Maternal Mental Health
Report discusses the rates of maternal mental health conditions experienced by American Indian and Alaska Native women. Highlights correlations and contributing factors driving mental health disparities among native mothers.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health
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Rural and Urban Differences in Insurance Coverage at Prepregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum
Examines insurance coverage in rural and urban women at prepregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Analyzes 154,992 postpartum individuals in the U.S. part of the 2016-2019 PRAMS (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System) and breaks down rural versus urban data by age, race/ethnicity, income, state Medicaid expansion, education, marital status, chronic disease, and more. Discusses disparities in insurance for rural and urban women.
Author(s): Lindsay K. Admon, Jamie R. Daw, Julia D. Interrante, et al.
Citation: Obstetrics & Gynecology, 14(3), 570-581
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
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Obstetric Readiness in Rural Communities Lacking Hospital Labor and Delivery Units
Policy brief discussing the current rural maternal healthcare workforce and their capacity to manage obstetric emergencies during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Offers recommendations to promote obstetric readiness for emergency care in rural hospitals without obstetric units and support for community-based, emergency department-adjacent health workers.
Author(s): Eneka Lamb, Madeline Merwin, Quinyatta Mumford, et al.
Date: 02/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Rural–Urban Disparities in Adverse Maternal Outcomes in the United States, 2016–2019
Analyzes maternal mortality and admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU) in rural and urban areas in the U.S. between 2016 and 2019. Utilizes Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) to examine rural versus urban maternal health disparities.
Author(s): Katharine A. Harrington, Natalie A. Cameron, Kasen Culler, William A. Grobman, Sadiya S. Khan
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 113(2)
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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Understanding and Overcoming Barriers to Rural Obstetric Training for Family Physicians
Reports findings from a mixed-methods study on the availability and characteristics of obstetric (OB) training in rural family medicine residency programs, as well as the barriers to and facilitators of rural OB training.
Author(s): Erin Fredrickson, David V. Evans, Sara Woolcock, et al.
Citation: Family Medicine, 55(6), 381-388
Date: 2023
Type: Document
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