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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Rx for the Rural Healthcare Workforce and Access to Care
Podcast with Tom Morris of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy about trends related to the rural healthcare workforce and efforts to overcome challenges. Discusses the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, rural hospital closures, telehealth, graduate medical education in rural areas, community health workers and community paramedics, funding opportunities to promote healthcare access in rural areas, the opioid crisis, and more.
Author(s): Jessica Nicholson
Date: 05/2022
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: The Conference Board
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Provider and Patient Satisfaction With the Dental Therapy Workforce at Apple Tree Dental
Describes satisfaction of clinical providers, organizational administrators, and patients with the dental therapy workforce at Apple Tree Dental Centers, a not-for-profit community dental organization with locations in urban and rural Minnesota. Features demographics with breakdowns by urban or rural location of clinic and residence of patients.
Author(s): Margaret Langelier, Simona Surdu, Ellen O'Malley
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Evaluation of the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program: 2019 Cohort - Second Annual Report
Reports on the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) program 2019 cohort's first implementation year, 2020-2021. Describes the program, the need for increased access to maternal and obstetric care in rural areas, and the program's strategic goals. Provides an overview of the 3 RMOMS awardees in Missouri, New Mexico, and Texas, including network characteristics, model and goals, health equity efforts, sustainability, and maternal health outcomes.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Community Clergy Training to Support Rural Veterans' Mental Health
Report discusses a mental health training program for clergy to support the mental health of rural veterans. Discusses the focuses of the training program and highlights outcomes from the increase of access to mental health support for rural veterans.
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
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Rural–Urban Disparities in Health Access Factors Over Time: Implications for Cancer Prevention and Health Equity in the Midwest
Examines environmental and socioeconomic factors in rural and urban counties to understand differences in cancer burden and healthcare access. Analyzes 123 counties in Kansas and Missouri from 2009 to 2017 for health equity factors such as primary care provider availability, lack of insurance, unemployment, and childhood poverty. Includes rural versus urban cancer mortality rates in Kansas from 2008-2017.
Author(s): Jordan Baker, Hope Krebill, Hanluen Kuo, et al.
Citation: Health Equity, 6(1), 382-389.
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
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Telemedicine Versus In-Person Primary Care: Impact on Visit Completion Rate in a Rural Appalachian Population
Explores telemedicine use in a primary care clinic in rural West Virginia and its impact on patient access and visit completion rates. Examines visit completion rates of 110,999 patients from January 2019 to November 2020, with patient data broken down by sex, age, marital status, and distance in miles from facility.
Author(s): Treah Haggerty, Heather M. Stephens, Shaylee A. Peckens, et al.
Citation: The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 35(3), 475-484
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
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Expanded Naloxone Distribution to Reduce Rural Opioid Overdose Mortality
Discusses a study on the effect community-based and pharmacy-initiated naloxone distribution has had on rates of rural opioid overdose mortality. Highlights an intervention that expands naloxone access points in rural communities and pharmacies in addition to traditional provider-based treatment.
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
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Association Between Rural Hospital Service Changes and Community Demographics
Investigates possible differences in service availability by local demographics and examines the association between proportion of a rural community belonging to an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality-identified priority population and local hospital service changes. Features statistics on changes in healthcare service availability in nonmetro hospitals from 2011-2017, with breakdowns by areas with greater or smaller percentage of the population that is Hispanic/Latino, Black, aged 65 or greater, or in poverty. Also includes statistics on changes in availability of 8 types of services in nonmetro hospitals from 2011-2017.
Author(s): Tyler L. Malone, Kathleen Knocke, George H. Pink, et al.
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Health Care Access Among Self-Employed Workers in Nonmetropolitan Counties
Report examining access to healthcare for self-employed workers, their families, and their households in rural areas, focusing on availability and affordability. Covers health insurance coverage and affordability, availability of healthcare services, and changes in work, income, health status, and healthcare access in 2020.
Author(s): Elizabeth A. Dobis, Jessica E. Todd
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Diabetes Prevalence and Monitoring by Urbanization
Poster presentation from the National Rural Health Association 2022 annual conference, examining the prevalence of diabetes and the quality of annual hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) monitoring in a national sample of commercially-insured people. Features demographics and statistics including prevalence of diabetes among enrollees and HbA1c testing in people with diabetes in 2019 and 2020, with breakdowns by metro and nonmetro location.
Author(s): Lindsey R. Hammerslag, Katie Youngen, Ty Borders, Jeffery Talbert
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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