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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Federal Policy to Advance Racial, Ethnic, and Tribal Health Equity
Report explores the role of federal policy in creating or perpetuating racial, ethnic, and tribal health inequities. Discusses how past and current federal policies, directly related to healthcare or not, affect the health and well-being of racial and ethnic minorities, including American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Rural Communities in the United States Face Persistent Disparities in Access to Orthopaedic Surgical Care
Examines trends in the proportion of orthopedic surgeons practicing in rural areas between 2013 to 2018 using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Compare National Downloadable File (PC-NDF). Identifies the proportion of rural U.S. counties with access to orthopedic surgeons. Describes the characteristics associated with surgeons practicing in a rural setting.
Author(s): Victoria S. Wu, Jenna E. Schmidt, Tarun K. Jella, et al.
Citation: The Iowa Orthopaedic Journal, 431(1), 15-21
Date: 2023
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Closing the Opportunity Gap for Young Children
Discusses the factors that cause inequities and limited access to resources for young children, such as poverty, food insecurity, abuse and violence, lack of social and emotional safety, inadequate healthcare and schooling, and more. Discusses policy and practices aimed at reducing opportunity gaps, with a focus on historically disadvantaged populations, including those in rural areas.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Hidden Crisis: Pediatric Oral Health In Rural America
Highlights barriers to rural pediatric oral health, along with proposed solutions. Examines Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas, oral health literacy, and needed Medicaid reforms. Features model oral health programs in Washington, Montana, North Dakota, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, and includes profiles of several rural providers.
Author(s): Michael A. Ignelzi, Tegwyn Brickhouse, Erica Caffrey, et al.
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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Common Problems, Common Solutions: Looking Across Sectors at Strategies for Supporting Rural Youth and Families Tool-Kit
Provides an overview of barriers faced by rural communities in supporting youth and families, and innovative strategies to improve outcomes for youth, families, and communities. Informed by interviews and listening sessions with practitioners and leaders working in rural areas across the United States.
Author(s): Lisa Pilnik, Christine Humowitz
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organizations: Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, U.S. Department of Justice
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Early Interventions for Psychosis - First Episodes and High Risk Populations: Proceedings of a Workshop
Highlights the proceedings of a 2022 workshop hosted by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine and discusses how early interventions can improve outcomes for those who are as high risk of behavioral health issues. Details the challenges rurality can present to providers and patients.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Forum on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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5-Year Strategic Plan: How Primary Care Investments Can Increase Access, Improve Quality, Lower Costs, Promote Health Equity & Address Workforce Needs
Details the New Mexico strategic plan to improve primary care by increasing access, improving healthcare quality, implementing financing reforms, promoting workforce sustainability, and integrating behavioral health into primary care. Discusses issues disproportionately represented in rural and frontier areas and provides county-level maps depicting social vulnerability and Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) recipients. Provides models and best practices in primary care with examples specific to rural areas.
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: New Mexico Primary Care Council
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CAH, Rural and OB Hospitals in Texas
Map identifying Critical Access Hospital (CAH) and rural hospital locations in Texas. Highlights rural counties with and without labor and delivery services, and shows rural counties without a hospital.
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals
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Disparities in Access to Radiation Therapy by Race and Ethnicity in the United States With Focus on American Indian/Alaska Native People
Explores access to radiation therapy American Indian and Alaska Native people across the U.S. Explores travel distances to receive radiation therapy for AI/AN majority and non-AI/AN majority groups. Breaks down data by Indian Health Service region.
Author(s): Solmaz Amiri, Matthew D. Greer, Clemma J. Muller, et al.
Citation: Value in Health, 25(12), 1929-1938
Date: 12/2022
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Personal Care Assistance in Rural America
Discusses Personal Care Aide (PCA) scarcity in rural areas using 2013-2017 American Community Survey data. Presents maps and graphs of self-care disability prevalence and PCA availability with breakdowns by region. Also provides graphs comparing rural and urban PCA demographics, including poverty rate, race, educational attainment, sex, age, language spoken at home, and U.S. or foreign place of birth.
Author(s): Lillie Greiman, Rayna A. Sage, Timothy Bates, et al.
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities, University of California San Francisco Health Workforce Research Center (UCSF HWRC)
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