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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Trends in the Utilization of Emergency Department Services, 2009-2018
Examines emergency department (ED) utilization. Explores ED visits resulting in hospital admission, visits ending in release, and visits associated with mental health or substance use disorder diagnoses. Presents information on the patient, hospital, and payer characteristics for each of these three categories, including metropolitan status. Describes federal efforts to discourage inappropriate ED use.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Rural Initiatives Addressing Community Social Needs
Describes the role of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in improving population health and addressing social needs in their communities. Profiles two Critical Access Hospital social needs programs: Lakewood Health System's food access initiatives in Minnesota, and Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital's NEK Prosper. Provides an overview of both programs and highlights best practices of each.
Author(s): Madeleine Pick, Megan Lahr, Ira Moscovice
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Quality of Care in the SoonerCare Program, 2021
Reports on access, use, and effectiveness of care for Oklahoma's Medicaid program enrollees. Appendix A provides detailed rural/urban breakdowns on compliance with immunizations, cancer screenings, medication management, and more.
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Oklahoma Health Care Authority
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American Indian Women Cancer Survivors' Perceptions and Experiences with Conventional and Non-Conventional Mental Health Care for Depressive Symptoms
A qualitative analysis using the Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence (FHORT) to examine culturally specific perceptions and experiences of American Indian (AI) women cancer survivors and barriers involved when seeking conventional and tribally-based mental health services for symptoms of depression.
Author(s): Burnette, C.E., Liddell, J., Roh, S., Lee, Y.S., Lee, H.Y.
Citation: Ethnicity & Health, 26(2), 186-205
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
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Video Telehealth Expands Care for Veterans with Multiple Sclerosis
Features a report on promising practices in providing access to care for rural veterans with multiple sclerosis (MS) via video-based telehealth. Details the traditional barriers to care for MS patients in rural areas and how the video telehealth model can help patients overcome them.
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
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Primary Care in the United States: A Chartbook of Facts and Statistics
Examines aspects of primary care in the United States, including facts and figures on patient contact with primary care, frequency and range of conditions seen in primary care, care coordination, scope of practice, payment models, and preventive care visit utilization. Features statistics on percentage of primary care physicians by geography, with breakdowns by urban, large rural, small rural, and isolated rural location.
Author(s): Brian Antono, Andrew Bazemore, Irene Dankwa-Mullan, et al.
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Robert Graham Center
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Pennsylvania Mental Health Services for Victims of Sexual Assault and Rape: A Staff Study
Examines existing laws and services in Pennsylvania and offers recommendations to ensure that sexual assault victims receive quality, trauma-informed medical care. Includes recommendations to promote a certified sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) program, increase the use of telehealth, and provide for a designation for hospitals, based on their ability to provide comprehensive sexual assault services. Features a section comparing availability of certified SANE nurses in rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Yvonne Llewellyn Hursh, Allison N. Kobzowicz, Grant Rosul, Wendy L. Baker
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Joint State Government Commission, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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Integrating Family and Friend Support, Information Technology, and Diabetes Education in Community-Centric Diabetes Self-Management
Study examining the impacts of community support on diabetes self-management in a rural island community in Hawaii based on a pilot program with 7 participants over a 9 month period. Describes the challenges of implementing diabetes self-management education programs in rural areas, access to dietitians and endocrinologists, and the potential for telehealth and health information technology to facilitate diabetes self-management.
Author(s): Christina Higa, Elizabeth J. Davidson, Joanne R. Loos
Citation: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 28(2), 261-275
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
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Increasing Rural Patient Access Using Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Providers: Successful Practice Integration Within the Department of Veterans Affairs
Highlights a study on the efficacy of the Veterans Affairs' clinical pharmacy specialist program in improving rural access to care. Evaluates outcomes in primary care, mental health, and pain management.
Author(s): Julie A Groppi, Heather Ourth, Michael Tran, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 78(8), 712-719
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
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Nevada Rural and Frontier Health Data Book - Tenth Edition
Provides an overview of the health and healthcare in rural and frontier Nevada. Offers state and county-level data on the resident population, economic and social characteristics, insurance coverage, population health, the healthcare workforce, and the healthcare delivery system.
Author(s): Tabor Griswold, John Packham, Jeannine Warner, Laima Etchegoyhen
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Nevada State Office of Rural Health, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine Office of Statewide Initiatives
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