Substance Use and Misuse in Rural Areas – Resources

Issue Brief: Integrated Behavioral Health is High-value Care
Highlights the advantages of behavioral health integration. Addresses costs and healthcare outcomes and presents several models for integration in healthcare settings.
Date: 12/2019
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Creating a Consortium to Combat the Opioid Epidemic in Ohio
Highlights a program formed to address the opioid crisis in five counties in Ohio. Discusses the use of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) to form a hub-and-spoke consortium of state, county, and community partners.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 11/2019
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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State Strategies to Address Opioid Use Disorder Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women and Infants Prenatally Exposed to Substances, Including Infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Identifies state strategies to improve outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women with opioid use disorder and infants prenatally exposed to substances, including opioids. Discusses strategies focused on access to and coordination of quality services, including approaches such as telemedicine that are useful in rural areas. Also discusses strategies related to provider awareness and training and other topics.
Author(s): Charlan D. Kroelinger, Marion E. Rice, Shanna Cox, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 68(36), 777-783
Date: 09/2019
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Evidence Brief: Barriers and Facilitators to Use of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
Report details an analysis of barriers and facilitators to administering medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD) that are applicable to the Veterans Health Administration. Highlights a synthesis of data extracted from a number of selected studies from 2014-2019, as well as VA data from 2006-2019. Includes data focusing on rural areas.
Date: 08/2019
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration
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Life-Saving Naloxone from Pharmacies
Describes the role naloxone plays in reversing the effects of an opioid overdose. Discusses the need for greater access to naloxone, particularly in rural areas, and highlights trends in opioid and naloxone prescribing. Includes links to related CDC resources.
Date: 08/2019
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Guidance to States and School Systems on Addressing Mental Health and Substance Use Issues in Schools
Report provides guidance to school systems and state governments about mental health and substance use in schools. Highlights examples of methods to identify and address mental health issues and substance use in schools. Discusses state-level Medicaid funding for behavioral health.
Author(s): Elinore McCance-Katz, Calder Lynch
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Tailoring Crisis Response and Pre-arrest Diversion Models for Rural Communities
Outlines a guide for rural communities to develop crisis response and pre-arrest diversion programs for people with mental health or substance use disorders. Discusses the use of technology to connect law enforcement with behavioral health programs, as well as building off of current programs to address the specific needs of the community.
Date: 06/2019
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Collaborative Models for Medication-Assisted Treatment: Key Elements of Vermont's Hub-and Spoke System
Describes the collaborative effort of 3 health-related organizations who partnered to develop and implement a medication assisted therapy (MAT) treatment practice using the hub and spoke model. This system was supported through a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Home State Plan amendment for Vermont, a mostly rural state, to modify their current MAT services to increase access to addiction treatment, integrate health and addictions care, improve health outcomes, and promote recovery.
Date: 04/2019
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program (IAP)
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Cigarette Smoking Rates among Veterans: Association with Rurality and Psychiatric Disorders
Details a study on rates of smoking among Iraq and Afghanistan era veterans in rural and urban areas. Looks at co-occurring mental health disorders and presents data by demographic factors, such as sex, ethnicity, and employment, among others.
Author(s): Lara N. Coughlin, Sarah M. Wilson, Meredith C. Erwin, et al.
Citation: Addictive Behaviors, 90, 119-123
Date: 03/2019
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Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Save Lives
Reports on the findings from an expert committee regarding the evidence behind using medications to treat opioid use disorder, as well as issues with accessing medication-based treatment. Chapter 3 includes a section focusing on rural populations and chapter 5 addresses rural/urban differences in the number of healthcare providers waivered to prescribe buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid-use disorder.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Committee on Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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