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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Rural Court Perspectives on Addressing Substance Use Disorder in Justice-Involved People
Summarizes results of a listening session for rural judges and court personnel to discuss challenges and opportunities for addressing substance use disorder (SUD) for court-involved people. Highlights insights about program models, access to care, juvenile courts and family reunification, training of judges, and more.
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: State Justice Institute (SJI)
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Oregon Areas of Unmet Health Care Need Report, 2024
Covers nine variables that describe areas of unmet healthcare need in Oregon and measure access to primary care, mental, and oral healthcare services. Areas of unmet need are scored based on variables within the following categories: availability of providers, ability to afford care, and utilization. Includes statistics and county-level information by service areas.
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Oregon Office of Rural Health
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Legislative Resolution 374: Interim Study to Examine the Availability of Healthy and Affordable Food Choices in Nebraska Communities
Reports on food insecurity and independent grocery stores in rural Nebraska, with data on communities' food access, factors influencing food security in rural areas, and independent grocery stores' operations and community benefit. Highlights program models supporting food access and sustainability.
Author(s): Carlie Jonas
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Affairs
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2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan
A guide for federal health information technology (HIT) activities. Outlines four goals and related objectives focused on promoting health and wellness, enhancing the delivery and experience of care, and accelerating research and innovation. Describes how the federal government will use the plan to prioritize resources within federal agencies, align and coordinate federal HIT initiatives, signal priorities to the private sector, and benchmark and assess the progress of federal HIT initiatives.
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Designing Survey-Based Mobile Interfaces for Rural Patients With Cancer Using Apple's ResearchKit and CareKit: Usability Study
Examines the usability of mobile health (mHealth) interfaces for patients with cancer in rural settings, utilizing a survey of 30 current or postsurgery patients. Provides data on app use habits, familiarity with mHealth, and responses to specific mobile user interfaces. Discusses approaches to facilitating mHealth access among patients with limited digital literacy.
Author(s): Alyssa Donawa, Christian Powell, Rong Wang, et al.
Citation: JMIR Formative Research, 8, e57801
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
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Diagnostic Excellence in U.S. Rural Healthcare: A Call to Action
Issue brief exploring challenges to diagnostic quality in rural healthcare. Provides an overview of the topic of diagnostic errors in rural settings, and provides suggestions related to resource and workforce limitations, access to care, care coordination and other service delivery models, and social determinants of health.
Author(s): Kisha J. Ali, Nick J. Galvez, Sarah Craig, et al.
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Food Deserts in Nebraska: A Revised Methodology and Analysis
Analyzes the geography of healthy food access in Nebraska. Identifies census tracts designated as food deserts, discusses factors influencing rural food desert prevalence, and examines trends using county-level sociodemographic data and studies of grocery store and farmer's market locations.
Author(s): Gregory J. McKee, Shawn C. Kaskie
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Affairs
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States Could Better Leverage Coverage and Access Requirements To Promote Maternal Health Care Access in Medicaid Managed Care
Describes challenges to maternal healthcare access. Explores the provider coverage rules and network adequacy standards state Medicaid agencies have set for maternal healthcare in Medicaid managed care. Examines state oversight of quantitative network adequacy standards. Offers recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure access to pregnancy and postpartum care in Medicaid managed care. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Report in Brief
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Beyond Connectivity: The Role of Broadband in Rural Economic Growth and Resilience
Reports on the economic value of broadband infrastructure for rural areas. Provides a variety of data on broadband and economic growth in rural communities and compares rural and urban gaps in broadband access. Features a broadband development case study for Beltrami County, Minnesota, which includes discussion of broadband's value for telehealth and other aspects of healthcare delivery and availability.
Author(s): Amanda Weinstein, May Erouart, Adam Dewbury
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center on Rural Innovation
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Connected and Strong: Strategies for Accessible and Effective Crisis and Mental Health Services
Presents ten reports addressing different issues affecting behavioral healthcare access across the U.S. and highlights strategies for addressing and overcoming access issues. Reports tackle different issues in behavioral health access, such as peer support, outpatient services, intersectionality and community partnerships, and crisis services, among others.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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