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Rural Health Information Hub

Substance Use and Misuse in Rural Areas – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Substance Use and Misuse in Rural Areas.

Polysubstance Use among Pregnant Women with Opioid Use Disorder in the United States, 2007–2016
Details a study on polysubstance use, or the use of multiple substances at once, by pregnant women from 2007-2016. Breaks down results by demographic data such as age and socioeconomic status, as well as by substances used and rural versus urban location.
Author(s): Marian P. Jarlenski, Nicole C. Paul, Elizabeth E. Krans
Citation: Obstetrics and Gynecology, 136(3), 556-564
Date: 09/2020
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Impaired Driving Among Rural Female Drug-Involved Offenders
Highlights a study on women convicted of impaired driving in rural areas. Breaks down data by demographic data such as age and education, as well as prior history of mental health and substance use issues.
Author(s): J. Matthew Webster, Martha Tillson, Megan F. Dickson, Michele Staton
Citation: Traffic Injury Prevention, 21(8), 513-520
Date: 09/2020
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Willingness to Participate in At-Home HIV Testing Among Young Adults Who Use Opioids in Rural Appalachia
Explores a study on the willingness of people who use drugs to take at-home HIV tests in rural Appalachian Kentucky. Breaks down data by participant's age, sex, and syringe usage, among others.
Author(s): April M. Ballard, Regine Haardöerfer, Nadya Prood, et al.
Citation: AIDS and Behavior, 25, 699-708
Date: 09/2020
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Building Capacity for Medication Assisted Treatment in Rural Primary Care Practices: The IT MATTTRs Practice Team Training
Evaluates IT MATTTRs, a training intervention for primary care practice (PCP) teams regarding medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. Compares in-person training to web-based training through Project ECHO. Discusses the implementation of the training program, participant satisfaction, and impact on participants' perceived ability to deliver MAT.
Author(s): Linda Zittleman, Kristen Curcija, Christin Sutter, et al.
Citation: Journal of Primary Care and Community Health, 11
Date: 09/2020
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Tracking FY2019 Federal Funding to Combat the Opioid Crisis
Report covering the allocation of federal resources for opioid initiatives at the federal, state, and local level. Presents data on federal funding and offers case studies of state and county-level spending data for Ohio, Arizona, Louisiana, Washington, Tennessee, and New Hampshire. Makes policy recommendations and briefly discusses grant initiatives that target rural-specific barriers to treatment.
Date: 09/2020
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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Crisis Services: Meeting Needs, Saving Lives
Presents the National Guidelines for Behavioral Health Crisis Care Best Practices Toolkit and a number of companion papers on crisis care. Toolkit highlights best practices for crisis care and the papers discuss a number of related topics, including homelessness, substance use, opioid-related deaths, and rural and frontier areas, among other issues.
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Strategies for the Delivery of Behavioral Health Crisis Services in Rural and Frontier Areas of the U.S.
Report highlights the challenges of providing behavioral health crisis services to rural and frontier communities. Details the barriers to crisis service delivery such as lack of transportation, travel distance, and broadband access, among others. Includes a discussion on the effect of COVID-19 pandemic rural crisis service delivery.
Author(s): Kristin A. Neylon
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
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Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) Project Behavioral Health Care Coordination Summit: Summit Findings
Summarizes the findings from a two-day summit on the role of rural hospitals in addressing behavioral health as part of a community-wide initiative. Identifies barriers to behavioral health care coordination in rural areas. Describes four areas of opportunity to advance care coordination. Includes resources for each area of opportunity identified.
Author(s): Amy Harding
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Advocates for Human Potential, National Rural Health Resource Center
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Nonfatal Drug and Polydrug Overdoses Treated in Emergency Departments — 29 States, 2018–2019
Reports on changes in rates and proportions of suspected nonfatal drug and polydrug overdoses treated in the emergency department (ED) between 2018 and 2019, based on data from 29 states. Includes data for urban and rural counties on ED visits for opioids, cocaine, amphetamines, and benzodiazepines, as well as for opioids in combination with each of the other types of drugs.
Author(s): Stephen Liu, Lawrence Scholl, Brooke Hoots, Puja Seth
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 69(34), 1149-1155
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Alcohol Use Disorder: Addressing Stigma and Treatment Access in Rural America
Examines alcohol use and misuse in rural America. Features the work of healthcare providers in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Texas, and New Mexico. Discusses stigma, treatment access, and recovery. Addresses the impact of COVID-19 on treatment access, including the use of telehealth.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Last Updated: 4/29/2025