Rural Health
Resources by State: Pennsylvania
Controlled Substance Prescribing Patterns Among Fatal Overdose Decedents with an Opioid, Stimulant, or Both Contributing to Death — Pennsylvania, 2017–2022
Reports on deaths involving opioids without stimulants, deaths involving stimulants without opioids, and deaths involving both opioids and stimulants in Pennsylvania between 2017 and 2022. Includes data for rural and urban areas. Discusses the role of opioid prescribing on overdose deaths.
Author(s): Stephanie Hayden, Stanley M. Murzynski, Ashley Bolton, Carrie Thomas Goetz
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(12), 205-209
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Reports on deaths involving opioids without stimulants, deaths involving stimulants without opioids, and deaths involving both opioids and stimulants in Pennsylvania between 2017 and 2022. Includes data for rural and urban areas. Discusses the role of opioid prescribing on overdose deaths.
Author(s): Stephanie Hayden, Stanley M. Murzynski, Ashley Bolton, Carrie Thomas Goetz
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(12), 205-209
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Selected Rural Healthcare Facilities in Pennsylvania
Shows the state's Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), as well as Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) sites and short term/PPS (Prospective Payment System) hospitals located in rural areas.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Shows the state's Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), as well as Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) sites and short term/PPS (Prospective Payment System) hospitals located in rural areas.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Rural Versus Urban Genitourinary Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Pennsylvania: 1990–2019
Analyzes genitourinary (GU) cancer incidence and mortality in rural and urban Pennsylvania counties. Utilizes 1990-2019 Pennsylvania Cancer Registry data, examining rural and urban changes in GU cancer over time, with data breakdowns for prostate, bladder, and kidney cancers.
Author(s): Jonathan Pham, Ahmad N Alzubaidi, Jay D Raman, Tullika Garg
Citation: Current Oncology, 31(12), 8110-8117
Date: 12/2024
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Analyzes genitourinary (GU) cancer incidence and mortality in rural and urban Pennsylvania counties. Utilizes 1990-2019 Pennsylvania Cancer Registry data, examining rural and urban changes in GU cancer over time, with data breakdowns for prostate, bladder, and kidney cancers.
Author(s): Jonathan Pham, Ahmad N Alzubaidi, Jay D Raman, Tullika Garg
Citation: Current Oncology, 31(12), 8110-8117
Date: 12/2024
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Women Veterans Health Care in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: A Report of the Task Force
Reports on the quality of and access to health care and mental health services for women veterans in Pennsylvania. Explores barriers that women veterans encounter, including eligibility requirements, military sexual trauma, lack of community support systems, and lack of childcare. Mentions rural throughout.
Additional links: Summary
Author(s): Allison Kobzowicz, Stephen J. Kramer, Caitlyn Christie, Wendy L. Baker
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Joint State Government Commission, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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Reports on the quality of and access to health care and mental health services for women veterans in Pennsylvania. Explores barriers that women veterans encounter, including eligibility requirements, military sexual trauma, lack of community support systems, and lack of childcare. Mentions rural throughout.
Additional links: Summary
Author(s): Allison Kobzowicz, Stephen J. Kramer, Caitlyn Christie, Wendy L. Baker
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Joint State Government Commission, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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The Loss of Rural Vital Places: A Case Study Using the Social Determinants of Health Framework
Interviews 26 residents of a rural Pennsylvania town to explore the impact of the loss of vital places (defined as sources of healthy food, recreational facilities, and social spaces) through a social determinants of health lens. Discusses built environments, economic stability, education, and transportation and their impacts on health and wellbeing.
Author(s): Danielle Rhubart, Jennifer Kowalkowski, Hazel Velasco Palacios, Kristina Brant
Citation: Wellbeing, Space and Society, 7
Date: 12/2024
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Interviews 26 residents of a rural Pennsylvania town to explore the impact of the loss of vital places (defined as sources of healthy food, recreational facilities, and social spaces) through a social determinants of health lens. Discusses built environments, economic stability, education, and transportation and their impacts on health and wellbeing.
Author(s): Danielle Rhubart, Jennifer Kowalkowski, Hazel Velasco Palacios, Kristina Brant
Citation: Wellbeing, Space and Society, 7
Date: 12/2024
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The Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM): Fourth Annual Evaluation Report
Evaluates the fourth performance year of the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM), an initiative designed to test if global budgets can help rural hospitals improve their financial viability, provide flexibility to meet locally defined community health needs, and reduce overall healthcare spending. Provides an overview of the model and describes the implementation experience of participating hospitals and payers. Presents a descriptive quantitative assessment of financial performance, spending and utilization, access to care, and quality of care outcomes from 2016, the model's baseline, through 2022. Includes three case studies discussing three themes: experiences with global budget reconciliation, behavioral health transformation, and interactions and alignment between PARHM and other value-based care programs.
Additional links: Appendix, Findings at a Glance
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Evaluates the fourth performance year of the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (PARHM), an initiative designed to test if global budgets can help rural hospitals improve their financial viability, provide flexibility to meet locally defined community health needs, and reduce overall healthcare spending. Provides an overview of the model and describes the implementation experience of participating hospitals and payers. Presents a descriptive quantitative assessment of financial performance, spending and utilization, access to care, and quality of care outcomes from 2016, the model's baseline, through 2022. Includes three case studies discussing three themes: experiences with global budget reconciliation, behavioral health transformation, and interactions and alignment between PARHM and other value-based care programs.
Additional links: Appendix, Findings at a Glance
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Caring for Pennsylvanians with Dementia and Related Disorders: An Analysis of Needs and Capacity in Rural Areas, 2024 to 2034
Examines potential demand for care of people living with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder (ADRD) in rural Pennsylvania. Features county-level maps showing numbers of various types of care facilities and their capacity, and statistics including projections of the population aged 65+ and rate of increase from 2020 to 2040, age-adjusted mortality rate from ADRD, projections of number of ADRD cases by 2040, and impact of smoking and obesity on ADRD, with breakdowns by county.
Author(s): Dara P. Bourassa, Sara A. Grove
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Examines potential demand for care of people living with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder (ADRD) in rural Pennsylvania. Features county-level maps showing numbers of various types of care facilities and their capacity, and statistics including projections of the population aged 65+ and rate of increase from 2020 to 2040, age-adjusted mortality rate from ADRD, projections of number of ADRD cases by 2040, and impact of smoking and obesity on ADRD, with breakdowns by county.
Author(s): Dara P. Bourassa, Sara A. Grove
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Comparing Models That Integrate Obstetric Care and WIC on Improved Program Enrollment During Pregnancy: A Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial
A study protocol that outlines the potential impact of linking women who are receiving obstetric care directly with the Women, Infants, and Children's (WIC) Program. Discusses plans to recruit 240 low-income, rural, pregnant patients from Pennsylvania and analyze WIC usage, social determinants of health, health status, and more.
Author(s): Kirstie M. Herb Neff, Kelsey Brandt, Alex R. Chang, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 24, 3393
Date: 12/2024
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A study protocol that outlines the potential impact of linking women who are receiving obstetric care directly with the Women, Infants, and Children's (WIC) Program. Discusses plans to recruit 240 low-income, rural, pregnant patients from Pennsylvania and analyze WIC usage, social determinants of health, health status, and more.
Author(s): Kirstie M. Herb Neff, Kelsey Brandt, Alex R. Chang, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 24, 3393
Date: 12/2024
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Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Access to Accredited Facilities for Cancer Treatment
Examines access to cancer care at accredited hospitals in Pennsylvania due to expanded coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Analyzes patient characteristics before and after ACA implementation, with breakdowns according to sex, age, race/ethnicity, area deprivation, and urban, large town, small town, or rural location, among other characteristics. Provides commentary on ACA impacts for patients in nonurban areas.
Author(s): Lindsay M. Sabik, Youngmin Kwon, Coleman Drake, et al.
Citation: Health Services Research, 59(6)
Date: 12/2024
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Examines access to cancer care at accredited hospitals in Pennsylvania due to expanded coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Analyzes patient characteristics before and after ACA implementation, with breakdowns according to sex, age, race/ethnicity, area deprivation, and urban, large town, small town, or rural location, among other characteristics. Provides commentary on ACA impacts for patients in nonurban areas.
Author(s): Lindsay M. Sabik, Youngmin Kwon, Coleman Drake, et al.
Citation: Health Services Research, 59(6)
Date: 12/2024
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Roadblocks to Reporting: Examining Barriers that Deter Domestic Violence Victim-Survivors from Reporting to Law Enforcement in Rural Communities of Pennsylvania
Explores the lack of reporting from victim-survivors and the barriers they might face when reporting domestic violence and intimate partner violence to law enforcement. Highlights how barriers might differ among rural and urban Pennsylvanians, and how this might impact their ability to access services or resources from local victim service agencies.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Emily R. Strohacker
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Explores the lack of reporting from victim-survivors and the barriers they might face when reporting domestic violence and intimate partner violence to law enforcement. Highlights how barriers might differ among rural and urban Pennsylvanians, and how this might impact their ability to access services or resources from local victim service agencies.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Emily R. Strohacker
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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