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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.

Changes in Transmucosal Buprenorphine Utilization for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kentucky
Explores changes in prescription rates of transmuscosal buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kentucky. Compares prescribing rates in rural versus urban areas and examines rates on a week by week basis.
Author(s): Feitong Lei, Michelle R. Lofwall, Patricia R. Freeman, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(1), 186-196
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
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Rural-Urban Disparities in U.S. Cigarette Smoking Quit Ratios
Compares the rates of smoking cessation in rural and urban areas. Details the rate smokers quit smoking from 2010-2020 according to the National Survey on Drug Use.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
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QuickStats: Drug Overdose Death Rates Among Persons Aged ≥15 Years, by Age Group and Urban-Rural Status — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2020
Bar chart showing rural and urban overdose death rates by age group for those aged 15-24, 25-44, 45-64, and 65 and older.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 71(47), 1503
Date: 11/2022
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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U.S. National and State Estimates of Children Living with Parents Using Substances, 2015– 2019
Estimates of the number and percentage of children whose parents engage in problematic substance use. Presents data by substance type; by child demographic characteristics, including age, race, and urban/rural residence; and by state.
Author(s): Robin Ghertner
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Rates of Alcohol-Induced Deaths, by Urban-Rural Status — United States, 2000–2020
Line chart showing rural and urban alcohol-induced death rates.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 71(44), 1425
Date: 11/2022
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Opioid Abuse among Rural Adults
Examines the impact of the opioid abuse epidemic among rural adults in 2022 and changes since 2017. Covers rural access to mental health treatment, how comfortable rural adults with opioid addiction are discussing their concerns with others, perceptions of opioid abuse and its causes, and potential solutions to the opioid crisis.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Farm Bureau Federation
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Opioid-Related Outcomes Among Individuals with Co-Occurring Behavioral Health Conditions
Provides an overview of a quality measurement framework to improve the prevention and monitoring of opioid-related overdoses and mortality among individuals with co-occurring behavioral health conditions. Identifies existing measures, measure concepts, and recommendations to serve as a starting point for quality measurement. Highlights three essential domains for measurement: equitable access, clinical interventions, and integrated and comprehensive care for concurrent behavioral health conditions.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Quality Forum
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Availability of Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Group Areas
Explores the availability of substance use disorder treatment facilities and providers nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition. Provides data on the straight-line distance to the nearest opioid treatment facility that offers methadone, nearest substance use disorder treatment facility that does not offer methadone, and closest buprenorphine provider by rurality in minoritized and non-minoritized ZCTA.
Author(s): Sophia N. D. Negaro, Gabriel A. Benavidez, Christina M. Andrews, et al.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Broadband Internet Subscription Rates and Opioid Prescribing via Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Explores the effect of the DEA's temporary permission for providers to prescribe opioids via telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kentucky. Discusses the effect this permission had on rural areas and in counties with low and high rates of broadband access.
Author(s): Douglas R. Oyler, Svetla Slavova, Patricia R. Freeman, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 38(4), 900-907
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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The Association of Crash Response Times and Deaths at the Crash Scene: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Using the 2019 National Emergency Medical Service Information System
Compares EMS response times with rates of crash scene deaths by rural and urban region and by rush and non-rush hour periods. Breaks down the demographic characteristics of the people involved in the crash, such as age, sex, substances involved, and injuries, as well as mortality and rurality, among other measures.
Author(s): Oluwaseun J. Adeyemi, Rajib Paul, Charles DiMaggio, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 38(4), 1011-1024
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Last Updated: 2/21/2023