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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by State: Alabama

Alabama: 113 Causes of Death by County of Residence, Race, and Sex, 2021
Provides county-by-county data on cause of death in Alabama in 2021. Includes totals and rates, and makes comparisons by race and sex.
Date: 2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Alabama Center for Health Statistics, Alabama Department of Public Health
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Testing a Coaching Program to Help Adults with Diabetes Living in Rural Alabama Take Their Medicine as Directed
Presents a study of a medication adherence initiative in rural Alabama targeting predominantly African American adults with diabetes. Discusses research methods, community engagement and participation, data drawn from the study, and provides materials from the initiative in the appendix.
Author(s): Lynn J. Andreae, Susan J. Andreae, Andrea L. Cherrington, Joshua S. Richman, Monika M. Safford
Date: 2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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Opioids in Medicaid: Concerns About Opioid Use Among Beneficiaries in Six Appalachian States in 2018
Examines the rates of opioid use of Medicaid beneficiaries in 6 Appalachian states in 2018. Discusses the amount of the prescriptions issued, the amounts of opioids received, and the amount of providers with questionable prescribing practices, among other opioid-related measures.
Date: 12/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Substance Use Disorder: Reliable Data Needed for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program
Reviews what is known about the number of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment facilities and services, overall treatment capacity, and barriers to expanding capacity. Describes the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG), State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis (STR) and State Opioid Response (SOR) programs, and examines how seven states utilized these programs. Evaluates the data used to assess the effectiveness of these programs, and offers recommendations to improve the reliability of data collected on individuals served by the SABG program.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Pipeline Programs Can Support Reforms in Medical Education: A Cohort Study of Alabama's Rural Health Leaders Pipeline to Engage Community Leaders
Presents a study examining the efficacy of a medical education pipeline program to provide healthcare professionals for rural communities in Alabama. Details the distributions of graduates throughout the state and highlights the counties by the percentage of their populations that are rural, poor, and Black, among other measures.
Author(s): John R. Wheat, James D. Leeper
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 11/2020
Type: Document
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Internet Access Disparities in Alabama & the Black Belt
Issue brief describing disparities in access to broadband service in Alabama's Black Belt region, comparing access to broadband coverage at rates above 100 Mbps and above 25 Mbps for all counties in the state to the statewide average. Discusses investments in broadband infrastructure in the region and in other rural areas of Alabama, telehealth access during the COVID-19 pandemic, and nationwide efforts to expand broadband coverage.
Author(s): Stephen G. Katsinas, Noel E. Keeney, Emily Jacobs, Emily Grace Corley, Hunter Whann
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Alabama Education Policy Center
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Healthcare: A Key Challenge in Alabama's Black Belt
Issue brief examining healthcare access in Alabama's Black Belt region compared to national trends. Covers hospital beds in relation to population, rural hospital closures, COVID-19 strain, and policy impacts.
Author(s): Emily Jacobs, Hunter Whann, Emily Grace Corley, Jonathan Bowen, Noel Keeney
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Alabama Education Policy Center
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Effect of an Additional 30 Minutes Spent Outdoors During Summer on Daily Steps and Individually Experienced Heat Index
Discusses rural-urban differences related to additional time spent outdoors and its impacts on physical activity and heat exposure. Reports on 89 urban and 88 rural residents in Alabama who are given an intervention of 30 minutes of additional outdoor time each day. Includes statistics and graphs detailing the rural versus urban intervention results.
Author(s): Suwei Wang, Molly B. Richardson, Connor Y.H. Wu, Benjamin F. Zaitchik, Julia M. Gohlke
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(20), 7558
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
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The Most Costly Chronic Medical Condition in America: Experts Talk About the Rural Aspects of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias
Describes the impact of Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias in rural areas, the challenges of providing treatment and care, and initiatives underway to address dementia in rural communities.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 06/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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The High Obesity Program: A Collaboration Between Public Health and Cooperative Extension Services to Address Obesity
Describes the activities of Programs to Reduce Obesity in High Obesity Areas, also known as High Obesity Program (HOP), developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in partnership with land grant universities and local Cooperative Extension Offices. HOP was designed to implement evidence-based strategies to improve physical activity and nutrition in mostly rural communities with high rates of obesity to reduce obesity and prevent or control diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Author(s): Sahra Kahin, Ashleigh Murriel, Anu Pejavara, Terrence O'Toole, Ruth Petersen
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 17
Date: 03/2020
Type: Document
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