Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by State: Alaska

Cross-Agency Approaches to Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Treatment: National Recommendations
Provides recommendations on how state agencies can work together to prevent and treat substance use disorder, including engaging with state offices of rural health. Offers examples from 8 states and emphasizes state efforts related to opioid misuse disorder.
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
view details
Planning and Partnerships: Coordinating Rural Resources for Emergency Preparedness and Response
Discusses how rural healthcare facilities can prepare for natural and man-made disasters, the need for flexibility, and the importance of learning from others' experiences. Includes examples of rural communities and providers responding to a tornado in Iowa, an earthquake in Alaska, and an armed hostage standoff in South Dakota.
Author(s): Tami Lichtenberg
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
The Impacts of Climate Change on Tribal Communities
Hearing from the Subcommittee for Indigenous People of the U.S. regarding how climate change is affecting tribal communities. Includes testimony from Tohono O'odham Nation in Arizona, Quinault Indian Nation in Washington, Calista Corporation in Alaska, and The Building Resilient Communities for Climate Extremes (BRACE Institute), which helps relocate tribal communities in low-lying coastal regions. Addresses the impacts on tribal water quality and availability; traditional food availability; disasters such as wildfires and flooding; and more.
Date: 02/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Subcommittee for Indigenous People of the United States
view details
AKVDRS Suicide Death Update - Alaska, 2012-2017
Details a study on the suicide death rate in Alaska from 2012-2017. Features rates for American Indian and Alaska Native, by substance use, and by region.
Author(s): Deborah Hull-Jilly, Scott Saxon
Citation: State of Alaska Epidemiology Bulletin, 1
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
view details
A Holistic Definition of Healthy Traditional Harvest Practices for Rural Indigenous Communities in Interior Alaska
Explores the ways in which sharing of wild resources is important for food security, wellness, and cultural identity in Indigenous Alaska communities. Discusses how environmental changes are affecting Alaskans' way of life and challenging access to foods needed for nutrition and cultural preservation.
Author(s): Krista M. Heeringa, Orville Huntington, Brooke Woods, et al.
Citation: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 9(2, Suppl. 2), 115–129.
Date: 2019
Type: Document
view details
For This Island Community, Better Health Is Everyone's Journey
Features the community of Sitka, Alaska, a winner of the 2019 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize. Highlights some of Sitka's efforts to actively promote health and wellness throughout the community with projects such as the Sitka Health Summit, community gardens, and home-based childcare.
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
view details
Data, Capacity-Building, and Training Needs to Address Rural Health Inequities in the Northwest United States: A Qualitative Study
Describes the results of 28 interviews with rural local health department staff in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington to examine their training needs and capacity to access and use data to better understand public health issues and allocate resources. Includes interview subjects' employment information and quotes highlighting the challenges to accessing or using data to monitor rural health issues.
Author(s): Betty Bekemeier, Seungeun Park, Uba Backonja, India Ornelas, Anne M. Turner
Citation: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 26(8-9), 825-834
Date: 2019
Type: Document
view details
Hearing Norton Sound: A Community Randomised Trial Protocol to Address Childhood Hearing Loss in Rural Alaska
Profiles a study evaluating a school hearing screening and referral process to determine if it helped to improve the treatment of childhood hearing loss in rural Alaska.
Author(s): Susan D. Emmett, Samantha Kleindienst Robler, Nae-Yuh Wang, et al.
Citation: BMJ Open, 9(1), e023078
Date: 2019
Type: Document
view details
Disparities in Social Determinants of Health Outcomes and Behaviours Between Older Adults in Alaska and the Contiguous US: Evidence from a National Survey
Examines sociodemographic factors, rural versus urban residence, health outcomes, and behaviors among adults aged 65 years and older living in Alaska to those living in the contiguous 48 states. Assesses if residence, living in Alaska versus the lower 48 states, is associated with the social determinants of health and health outcomes.
Author(s): Steven A. Cohen, Ana X. Talamas, Natalie J. Sabik
Citation: International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 78(1)
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
view details
Expanding Internet Access: Bank Financing for Rural Broadband Initiatives
Highlights multiple initiatives and other work being done by banks and federal savings associations to help rural communities expand access to broadband and internet services. Discusses broadband projects in rural Minnesota, Appalachian County Ohio, Alabama, and Alaska.
Date: 11/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
view details