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Substance Use and Misuse in Rural Areas – Resources

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

Opioid Prescribing Rates by Congressional Districts, United States, 2016
Details a study on opioid prescribing rates by U.S. congressional districts. Compares congressional district rates with state-level rates and highlights rates among in rural areas, specific regions, and by other variables.
Author(s): Lyndsey A. Rolheiser, Jack Cordes, S.V. Subramanian
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 108(9), 1214–1219
Date: 09/2018
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Opioid Crisis: Status of Public Health Emergency Authorities
Examines the effectiveness of public health emergency authorities' response to the opioid crisis. Discusses the different public health emergency authorities selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the activities underway to combat the opioid crisis.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Data Sources and Data-Linking Strategies to Support Research to Address the Opioid Crisis: Final Report
Identifies and describes secondary data sources that can be used in research and evaluations related to the opioid crisis. Discusses common approaches used to link or merge data sources. Describes research needs and challenges related to studying the opioid crisis.
Author(s): Rosanna Smart, Courtney Ann Kase, Amanda Meyer, Bradley D. Stein
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, RAND Corporation
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Any Use and Frequent Use of Opioids among Non-elderly Adults in 2015-2016, by Socioeconomic Characteristics
Details a study on the rate of opioid prescribing for adults under the age of 65 from 2015-2016. Presents data regarding poverty status and whether prescription was filled in a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or not, among other factors.
Author(s): G. Edward Miller, Asako S. Moriya
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Changing Dynamics of the Drug Overdose Epidemic in the United States from 1979 Through 2016
Features a study on the changes in overdose mortality across the U.S. between 1979-2016. Aims to shed light on the current opioid crisis by placing it within a broader data set incorporating all illicit drug overdose deaths in a longer time frame. Details the specific changes in drug overdose mortality in rural areas.
Author(s): Hawre Jalal, Jeanine M. Buchanich, Mark S. Roberts, et al.
Citation: Science, 361(6408)
Date: 09/2018
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Opioid-Affected Births to Rural Residents
Examines rates of diagnosis of maternal opioid use disorder and infant neonatal abstinence syndrome for rural residents at time of childbirth. Includes statistics for delivery location with breakdowns by rural, urban non-teaching, and urban teaching hospitals.
Author(s): Katy Kozhimannil, Tongtan Chantarat, Alexandra Ecklund, Carrie Henning-Smith
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Addiction and Substance Misuse Reports and Publications
Provides data on prevalence of substance use, and opioid misuse, use disorders, overdoses, and related topics. Includes discussion of prevention programs and screening.
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organizations: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Rural Health Opioid Program Funds Care Coordination Efforts for Recovery
Highlights programs funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy that provide opioid treatment and recovery care coordination. An Ohio program uses care coordination in an existing syringe exchange program and county family drug court, a Kentucky program focuses on helping prisoners, and a Montana program reaches new and expectant mothers.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Trajectory Classes of Cannabis Use and Heavy Drinking among Rural African American Adolescents: Multilevel Predictors of Class Membership
Presents a study on cannabis and alcohol use among African American youth in rural Georgia. Features data assessments over nine years beginning when the participants are 16 and ending when they are 25 and looks a perceived stress and other psychological risk factors.
Author(s): Allen W. Barton, Gene. H. Brody, Tamika C. B. Zapolski, et al.
Citation: Addiction, 113(8), 1439-1449
Date: 08/2018
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Non-Medical Opioid Use among Rural and Urban Pregnant Women, 2007-2014
Examines data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2007 to 2014 to determine differences in non-medical opioid use among rural and urban pregnant women. Covers policy and practice implications to inform program and clinical efforts to address the crisis.
Author(s): Katy Kozhimannil, Carrie Henning-Smith, Tongtan Chantarat, Tongtan Chantarat, Cresta Jones
Date: 08/2018
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Last Updated: 6/10/2025