Rural Health
Resources by State: Puerto Rico

FY 2024: HRSA's Rural Health Grants – Puerto Rico Fact Sheet
HRSA Federal Office of Rural Health Policy investments in Puerto Rico in Fiscal Year 2024. Lists grant recipients, award amounts, award recipient locations, and congressional district.
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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Persistent Poverty in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Island Areas
Identifies counties and county equivalents in persistent poverty in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Discusses the varied definitions of persistent poverty and challenges with identifying persistent poverty counties in U.S territories.
Author(s): Craig Benson, Alemayehu Bishaw
Date: 08/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Sentinel Enhanced Dengue Surveillance System — Puerto Rico, 2012–2022
Highlights the results of viral Dengue surveillance in Puerto Rico from May, 2012 to December, 2022. Details and tracks the various forms of illnesses that Dengue presents as. Discusses other diseases caught via the surveillance, such as Zika, COVID-19, and other respiratory viruses.
Author(s): Zachary J. Madewell, Alfonso C. Hernandez-Romieu, Joshua M. Wong, et al.
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 73(3), 1-29
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Veterans Affairs: Actions Needed to Improve Access to Care in the U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States
Examines how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates the population of veterans in the U.S. territories and freely associated states (FAS) to inform resource allocation and outreach needs. Describes how the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) monitors veterans' use of and access to healthcare services at VHA facilities in the U.S. territories. Discusses challenges veterans face in accessing VHA services in the U.S. territories and FAS and VA efforts to address these challenges. Offers recommendations to the VA and Department of Defense to assess the data sources in its model for estimating the veteran population and its travel benefits policies for territory veterans.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Percent Change in County Population: July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023
Shows percentage change in population per county across the United States and Puerto Rico, indicated by data from July 1, 2022 to July 1, 2023
Date: 03/2024
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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The Eastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research Network (ECHORN) Cohort Study: Design, Methods, and Baseline Characteristics
Highlights a study exploring the rates of mortality and morbidity from noncommunicable diseases in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. Explores the prevalence of risk factors for heart disease, diabetes, and cancer via blood samples collected from participants. Details participant characteristics, such as age, general health, and comorbidities, among other measures.
Author(s): Terri-Ann M. Thompson, Mayur M. Desai, Josefa L. Martinez-Brockman, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(1), 17
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
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Breast and Colorectal Cancer Screening Utilization after Hurricane María and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Puerto Rico
Explores breast and colorectal cancer screening utilization rates in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and the COVID-19 pandemic. Bases findings on Puerto Rico's Medicaid population and breaks down screening data by year from 2016-2021.
Author(s): Vivian Colón-López, Héctor M. Contreras-Mora, Cynthia M. Pérez
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(19), 6870
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
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Maternal and Child Health Services Title V Block Grant - Puerto Rico: FY 2024 Application/FY 2022 Annual Report
Highlights Puerto Rico's maternal and child health programs. Includes topics related to reducing infant mortality, improving oral and behavioral health, and improving access, among others.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Community Forums as Amplifiers of Communities' Voices: Isolated Communities in Puerto Rico
Highlights a study on health-related issues in isolated communities in Puerto Rico. Utilizes a community forum to identify health-related issues, such as primary care and mental health access, social determinants of health, emergency preparedness, and COVID-19 vaccinations, among other measures.
Author(s): Yashira M. Sánchez Colón, Edna Acosta Pérez, Mayra L. Roubert Rivera, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(14), 6335
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Hospital Inpatient PPS for FY 2024
Comments on a May 1, 2023, Federal Register proposed rule revising the hospital inpatient and long-term care hospital (LTCH) prospective payment systems (PPS). Offers comments on future hospital safety-net policies, including a potential safety-net adjustment for Medicare inpatient hospital payments; a potential health equity adjustment bonus to the hospital value-based purchasing program; recent case law on rural reclassification and estimated implications; and supplemental uncompensated care payments to Puerto Rico.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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