Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by State: Alabama

Human Intestinal Parasite Burden and Poor Sanitation in Rural Alabama
Reports on the presence of intestinal parasites in Lowndes County, Alabama, a location selected for this study due to high poverty, use of open-sewage systems, and past hookworm burden. Findings based on participant interviews and stool, serum, and soil samples. Includes data on parasite infection, participant gender, raw sewage in the home, asthma or other lung disease, and diarrhea in the past week.
Author(s): Megan L. McKenna, Shannon McAtee, Patricia E. Bryan, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 97(5), 1623-1628
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
view details
Longitudinal Analysis of Nut-Inclusive Diets and Body Mass Index Among Overweight and Obese African American Women Living in Rural Alabama and Mississippi, 2011-2013
Results of a weight loss intervention among 383 overweight women in 8 rural Alabama and Mississippi counties, evaluating the association between intake of nuts and other select food groups with participants' body mass index (BMI) over a 24-month period. Features data on participants' income, education, rates of consumption of various foods, and more.
Author(s): Samara R. Sterling, Brenda Bertrand, Suzanne Judd, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 14, 160595
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
view details
Engaging Patients and Families to Create a Feasible Clinical Trial Integrating Palliative and Heart Failure Care: Results of the Enable CHF-PC Pilot Clinical Trial
Presents the results of a study to determine the feasibility and site differences in an early palliative care (EPC) trial, the ENABLE CHF-PC (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends Comprehensive Heartcare for Patients and Caregivers). Participants were from rural and underserved areas with diverse socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. Sixty-one patients with advance heart failure and 48 caregivers participated in the program.
Author(s): Marie Bakitas, J. Nicholas Dionne-Odom, Salpy V. Pamboukian, et al.
Citation: BMC Palliative Care, 16(1), 45
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
view details
Health Disparities in Appalachia
Measures population health in Appalachia and explores disparities within the region and between Appalachia and the country as a whole. Features statistics on mortality, morbidity, behavioral health, child health, community characteristics, lifestyle, healthcare systems, quality of care, and social determinants, with breakdowns between urban and rural areas.
Author(s): Julie L. Marshall, Logan Thomas, Nancy M. Lane, et al.
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Appalachian Regional Commission, PDA, Inc., The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
view details
Fighting AIDS in the Deep South: Glimmers of Hope
Discusses how the southern states, public health officials, and AIDS activists have developed policies and programs focused on getting people tested and connected with medical care to improve health outcomes and prevent the spread of HIV.
Author(s): Teresa Wiltz
Citation: Stateline
Date: 06/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pew Charitable Trusts
view details
Medical Center Barbour Reduces Readmission Rates
Highlights the accomplishments of Medical Center Barbour (MCB), a prospective payment system (PPS) hospital located in Eufaula, Alabama, as it progressed through a Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) quality of care and transition of care project. MCB's top accomplishments include reducing readmissions, improving communication among staff and patients, and enhancing the discharge process.
Additional links: One-Page Summary
Date: 06/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
view details
Rural and Urban/Suburban Families' Use of a Web-Based Mental Health Intervention
Analyzes data from a web-based mental health intervention program serving adolescents and caregivers in disaster-affected areas of Missouri and Alabama, comparing rural and urban/suburban rates of accessing and completing web-based mental healthcare modules. Describes historic disparities in mental healthcare among rural communities, noting changes to access and engagement due to increased internet technology use among rural youth and adults. Discusses the potential of web-based healthcare interventions, including telehealth, to expand mental health services in rural areas.
Author(s): Brian Bunnell, Tatiana Davidson, Daniel Dewey, Matthew Price, Kenneth J. Ruggiero
Citation: Telemedicine Journal and E-Health, 23(5), 390-396
Date: 05/2017
Type: Document
view details
Tuberculosis And Rural Health Care In America
Episode of WBUR's On Point radio program, featuring discussion of a tuberculosis outbreak in rural Perry county, Alabama. Describes attempts to screen and treat low-income patients, despite many residents' mistrust of the medical profession. Panelists include the author of a recent Harper's Magazine article about tuberculosis in the Black Belt, a Perry County doctor, a University of Alabama professor of rural medicine, and a healthcare reporter from the Los Angeles Times.
Date: 05/2017
Type: Audio
view details
Rural Health Literacy: Who's Delivering Health Information?
Describes the role that school nurses, newspapers, public libraries, churches, public health departments, and hub-and-spoke academic institutions can play in supporting health literacy and providing consumer health information. Features examples from several states.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 05/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Monroe County Hospital Achieving Outcomes
Examines the gains made by Monroe County Hospital, located in Monroeville, Alabama, as part of the Small Rural Hospital Transition project. During the project, the 35-bed prospective payment system (PPS) hospital focused on improving patient education and transitions of care, integrating pharmacists, implementing bedside reporting, and reducing readmission rates. The changes have resulted in improved community engagement and prepared MCH for value-based purchasing.
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
view details