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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by State: Washington

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: 04/2019
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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
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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Strengthening Medicaid Long-term Services and Supports in an Evolving Policy Environment: A Toolkit for States
Shares strategies states can use to reform their long-term services and supports (LTSS) framework, focusing on improving LTSS in two key areas: rebalancing LTSS to increase the proportion of LTSS provided in community-based settings and integrating LTSS with physical and behavioral health services through managed care. Uses case studies to provide examples of each strategy, and discusses rural considerations throughout.
Additional links: Brief for Legislators, Summary of Reforms
Author(s): Stephanie Anthony, Arielle Traub, Sarah Lewis, et al.
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Mujeres Fuertes y Corazones Saludables, a Culturally Tailored Physical Activity and Nutrition Program for Rural Latinas: Findings from a Pilot Study
Provides an overview of a pilot study of a culturally-tailored group-based nutrition education and physical activity program for rural Latinas in Washington state. Discusses the challenges of recruiting and retaining rural Latinas in a lifestyle program, including limited individual resources, changing contact information, and lack of trust.
Author(s): Rebecca A. Seguin, Cynthia K. Perry, Emma Solanki, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(4), 630
Date: 02/2019
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Offering Palliative Care in Rural Communities
Video introducing palliative care and how it is provided in a rural community. Discusses challenges to providing high quality palliative care with rural areas and the healthcare setting that can offer palliative care.
Date: 02/2019
Sponsoring organization: Washington State Office of Rural Health
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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
Sponsoring organization: Subcommittee for Indigenous People of the United States
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Fruit and Vegetable Preferences and Practices may Hinder Participation in Community Supported Agriculture among Low-Income Rural Families
Presents a study on the effect food preferences have on rates of participation in community agriculture programs for low-income families in rural areas. Bases results on interviews with families regarding fruit and vegetable preferences.
Author(s): Karla L. Hanson, Jennifer Garner, Leah M. Connor, et al.
Citation: Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 51(1), 57-67
Date: 01/2019
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County of Residence and Screening Practices among Latinas and Non-Latina Whites in Two Rural Communities
Discusses mammographic screening among Latina and non-Latina White residents of two rural counties in eastern Washington. Analyzes questionnaire data representing county-level differences in screening rates based on ethnicity, sociodemographic information, age, and predictors of breast cancer-screening participation. Presents this study in relation to broader educational efforts to increase rates of clinical breast exams.
Author(s): Catherine Duggan, Yamile Molina, Elizabeth Carosso, Genoveva Ibarra, Beti Thompson
Citation: Ethnicity and Disease, 29(1), 31-38
Date: 01/2019
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Association Among County-Level Economic Factors, Clinician Supply, Metropolitan or Rural Location, and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Highlights a study on demographic factors that correlate with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Looks at a county's economic factors, rural status, and clinician supply in 8 different states.
Author(s): Stephen W. Patrick, Laura J. Faherty, Andrew W. Dick, et al.
Citation: JAMA, 321(4), 385-393
Date: 01/2019
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There's No Place Like Home: Rural Home Health and Hospice Care in Washington State, a Discussion of Challenges and Solutions
Provides an overview of home health and hospice services in rural Washington state. Identifies rural areas and offers information on aging rural populations within the state. Discusses challenges and potential solutions to meeting the needs of rural aging populations in Washington.
Author(s): Patricia Justis
Date: 01/2019
Sponsoring organization: Washington State Office of Rural Health
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