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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Mental Health – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Mental Health.

Reducing Rural Veteran Suicides: Navigating Geospatial and Community Contexts for Scaling up a National Veterans Affairs Program
Details the development of planning maps to facilitate the recruitment of rural veterans into a community-based suicide prevention program. Aims to identify the percentages of rural veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration, of veterans in the total population, and of suicide mortality for each county mapped.
Author(s): Carlee J. Kreisel, Lauren K. Wilson, Alexandra L. Schneider, et al.
Citation: Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 51(2), 344-351
Date: 04/2021
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Factors Affecting Adoption of Coordinated Anxiety Learning and Management (CALM) in Veterans' Affairs Community-Based Outpatient Clinics
Explores the efficacy of a training program designed to educate rural providers on evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) in VHA affiliated clinics. Details the barriers and facilitators of the program in rural areas and features the perspectives of providers who participated in the program.
Author(s): Anthony H. Ecker, Traci H. Abraham, Lindsey A. Martin, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(2), 447-455
Date: 03/2021
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Family-Centered Prevention Effects on the Association Between Racial Discrimination and Mental Health in Black Adolescents: Secondary Analysis of 2 Randomized Clinical Trials
Details a study exploring the efficacy of family-centered prevention programs in protecting rural Black adolescents from the mental health consequences of racial discrimination. Highlights two programs operating in 12 rural counties in Georgia. Breaks down data for both programs by family socioeconomic risk, encountered discrimination, and depressive/anxious symptoms, among other factors.
Author(s): Gene H. Brody, Tianyi Yu, Edith Chen, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 4(3), e211964
Date: 03/2021
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Healing Tool - Pocket Guide for Addressing Behavioral Health Goals in Native Communities
Provides data and strategies for addressing mental health and substance use issues in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Discusses issues around stigma, medication-assisted treatment, and traditional healing practices, among other measures, for creating culturally competent care in tribal communities.
Author(s): Shirley M. Cain
Date: 03/2021
Sponsoring organization: National American Indian and Alaska Native Addiction Technology Transfer Center
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Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics and County Governments - A National Model Tailored for Local Mental Health and Substance Use Care
Discusses the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) model and details how counties can deploy CCBHCs to address mental health and substance use issues in their communities. Breaks down the structure of CCBHCs and provides several state level examples.
Date: 03/2021
Sponsoring organizations: National Association of Counties, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
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Tackling America's Mental Health and Addiction Crisis Through Primary Care Integration
Explores how primary and behavioral healthcare integration can overcome the unmet needs for mental health and substance use services. Discusses barriers to integrated care delivery. Offers policy recommendations to improve the integration of primary and behavioral healthcare services through enhanced payments, training, and technical assistance, and improving access to behavioral health providers for consultation and referral.
Additional links: Infographic
Date: 03/2021
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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Relationships between Physical and Mental Health in Adolescents from Low-Income, Rural Communities: Univariate and Multivariate Analyses
Highlights a study on the relationship between physical and mental health among 10th and 11th graders in rural Alabama. Explores the role socioeconomic status and rural versus urban location play in the mental and physical health of teenagers. Breaks down data by sex, age, ethnicity, and household income, among other factors.
Author(s): Robyn Feiss, Melissa M. Pangelinan
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1372
Date: 02/2021
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Changes in Suicide Rates — United States, 2018–2019
Reports on changes in counts and age-adjusted suicide rates from 2018 to 2019. Includes data by level of county urbanicity for four levels of metropolitan areas and two nonmetro levels, overall and by sex. Also includes data on suicide mechanism of injury by level of urbanization.
Author(s): Deborah M. Stone, Christopher M. Jones, Karin A. Mack
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 70(8), 261-268
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Rural America
Highlights a study on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural America. Explores outcomes in the areas of physical and mental health, household income, and overall well-being. Discusses shifts in employment and their impact on personal and local economies.
Author(s): J. Tom Mueller, Kathryn McConnell, Paul Berne Burow, et al.
Citation: PNAS, 118(1), 2019378118
Date: 01/2021
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The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Implement the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention
Report details the a comprehensive national strategy for suicide prevention for individuals, families, and communities. Outlines 6 plans of actions to address suicide across the country, such as a broad-based public health response, crisis care and care transitions, and evidence-base care, among other factors.
Date: 01/2021
Sponsoring organization: National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention
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Last Updated: 5/1/2025