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Rural Response to the Opioid Crisis – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Response to the Opioid Crisis.

Child Welfare and Substance Use
Discusses a study on the relationship between substance use, specifically opioid misuse, and child welfare caseloads. Explores reports of child abuse and foster care entries along with drug mortality rates and retail opioid sales. Features rural information in the second and third reports.
Date: 2018
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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The Opioid Crisis in Rural and Small Town America
Provides data on opioid mortality rates in 2016 and changes in opioid mortality from 1999 through 2016 for metropolitan and nonmetro counties. Also provides metro/nonmetro data on drug overdoses by type of opioid - heroin, prescription opioids, synthetic opioids, and unspecified opioids - from 1999 through 2016. Discusses challenges rural areas face in addressing the opioid crisis.
Author(s): Shannon M. Monnat, Khary K. Rigg
Date: 2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Carsey School of Public Policy
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Vermont Hub-and-Spoke Model of Care for Opioid Use Disorders: An Evaluation
Details an evaluation of Vermont's hub-and-spoke model of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid addiction. Discusses the system's successes and areas that need focus and improvement.
Additional links: Summary Brief
Author(s): Richard A. Rawson
Date: 12/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Vermont Center on Behavior & Health
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Behavioral, Mental, and Physical Health Characteristics and Opioid Medication Misuse among Community Pharmacy Patients: A Latent Class Analysis
Study of opioid misuse risk factors based on mental, behavioral, and physical health characteristics for patients in 2 rural and 2 urban Pennsylvania counties. Uses latent class analysis methodology to identify combinations of indicators that may be visible to pharmacists and that may suggest increased risk of opioid misuse, including age, employment, whether a pharmacy is in a rural area, and education level.
Author(s): Gerald Cochran, Valerie Hruschak, Jennifer L. Bacci, Kenneth C. Hohmeier, Ralph Tarter
Citation: Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 13(6), 1055-1061
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
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Pain in the Nation: The Drug, Alcohol and Suicide Crises and the Need for a National Resilience Strategy
Examines current trends, causes, costs, and potential solutions to the drug, alcohol, and suicide crises in the U.S. Includes rural data and discussion of rural-specific issues.
Author(s): Laura M. Segal, Anne De Biasi, Jennifer L. Mueller, Kendra May, Molly Warren
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Trust for America's Health
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The Front Lines of the Opioid Crisis: Perspectives from States, Communities, and Providers
Video recording details the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on the opioid epidemic. Features testimony detailing efforts to combat opioid addiction from representatives of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry; the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals; the Wisconsin Prescription Drug Monitoring Program; and the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.
Date: 11/2017
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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Heartache, Pain, and Hope: Rural Communities, Older People, and the Opioid Crisis: An Introduction for Funders
Provides an overview of the opioid crisis and its impact on the lives of older adults. Addresses both opioid use by older adults and addiction within older adults' families. Identifies solutions being implemented by governments, communities, healthcare providers, and funders to address these concerns. Includes policy recommendations.
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Grantmakers In Aging
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Vital Signs: Changes in Opioid Prescribing in the United States, 2006-2015
Reports on opioid prescribing in the United States from 2006 to 2015. Includes data for metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore (rural) counties. Also offers maps showing county-level prescriptions per capita in 2015 and changes in prescriptions per capita from 2010 to 2015.
Author(s): Gery P. Guy Jr., Kun Zhang, Michele K. Bohm, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 66(26), 697-704
Date: 07/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Final Report: Opioid Use, Misuse, and Overdose in Women
Discusses the need for prevention, treatment and recovery programs for women who have opioid use disorders. Focuses on the increase in opioid use among the female population and ways to help manage and respond to the impact of overuse and overdose. Provides a summary of the September 2016 national meeting focus on opioid use in women. Includes information about how rural location affects use and treatment, particularly lack of access to care and overdose remedies.
Additional links: White Paper, December 2016
Date: 07/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health
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Promising Practice: Virginia SORH Taking Aim at Opioid Overdose
Illustrates how the Virginia State Office of Rural Health (VA SORH) and its partners are focusing their attention on the opioid epidemic in rural areas of the state by expanding treatment, and training lay rescuers to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose and administer naloxone when necessary.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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Last Updated: 5/3/2024