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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Rural Health Research Recap: Rural Obstetric Services: Access, Workforce, and Impact
Summarizes recent research by Rural Health Research Centers on access to obstetrics (OB) care in rural areas, the rural OB workforce, and the impact of limited OB access for rural counties. Includes a map showing hospital OB services in rural counties, where they have closed from 2004-2014, and a chart with the percent of clinicians by type attending deliveries in rural hospitals.
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway
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Rural Health Research Recap: State of Rural Women's Healthcare Utilization and Health Indicators
Summarizes rural and urban statistics describing health indicators and healthcare utilization for women, maternal and obstetric healthcare services, and maternal substance use. Includes information regarding barriers to accessing care.
Author(s): Shawnda Schroeder
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway
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An Evaluation Report: Senior Food-Assistance, Related Programming, and Seniors' Experiences Across the Feeding America Network
Discusses characteristics of 17 food bank programs in rural and urban areas of 9 states, through interviews, observations, and document reviews. Examines challenges faced by food-insecure rural seniors and profiles food-assistance programs in rural areas of Montana, Alabama, and Minnesota.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Edward A. Frongillo, Andrea M. Warren
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Feeding America
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2018 Transportation Trends
Identifies issues affecting the availability of accessible transportation for older adults and people with disabilities. Includes examples of programs underway in rural and frontier areas to address transportation needs.
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Aging and Disability Transportation Center
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Veterans Health Care: VA Needs to Address Challenges as It Implements the Veterans Community Care Program
Examines challenges and lessons learned from the former Veterans Choice Program in order to help the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) implement the new Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP), which allows veterans to seek healthcare services from non-VA facilities in certain situations. Addresses the proposed access standards for the VCCP program. Offered as testimony at the April 10, 2019 U.S. Senate hearing, VA MISSION Act: Implementing the Veterans Community Care Program.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Broadband Mapping: Challenges and Solutions
Recording of a hearing from the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation focusing on efforts to collect more accurate broadband coverage information. Includes testimonies from the U.S. Telecom Association, Competitive Carriers Association, Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, and others regarding current mapping challenges and the importance of broadband access for rural communities, including for healthcare services.
Additional links: Jonathan Spalter Testimony, Mike McCormick Testimony, Mike Oblizalo Testimony, Tim Donovan Testimony
Date: 04/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U.S. Senate
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Oral Health: Targeting Rural Areas
Compiles articles from a special issue of the Texas Public Health Journal focusing on rural oral health in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Covers emergency department use in Texas for oral health needs in rural versus urban counties, geriatric oral health and workforce options such as teledentistry, a Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment project under a state waiver targeting rural communities, partnerships to reach underserved areas and pregnant women, and oral health initiatives in Louisiana and Oklahoma.
Citation: Texas Public Health Journal, 71(2), 2-16
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Texas Public Health Association
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The Health and Well-Being of North Carolina's Farmworkers: The Importance of Inclusion, Accessible Services and Personal Connection
Provides an overview of farmworker health in North Carolina. Covers demographics, barriers to healthcare access, health risks, and negative health outcomes experienced by migrants and women. Highlights the impact of farmworker health services provided by Federally Qualified Health Centers and the North Carolina Farmworker Health Program.
Author(s): Elizabeth Freeman Lambar, Gayle Thomas
Citation: North Carolina Medical Journal, 80(2), 107-112
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
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Challenges Associated with Living Remotely from a Pediatric Cancer Center: A Qualitative Study
Examines barriers related to living in rural areas while receiving treatment in urban healthcare centers for pediatric cancer patients. Shares recommendations to improve care and services for pediatric cancer patients and their families.
Author(s): Emily B. Walling, Mark Fiala, Andrea Connolly, Alyssa Drevenak, Sarah Gehlert
Citation: Journal of Oncology Practice, 15(3), e219-e229
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
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Indiana Primary Care Needs Assessment, 2019
Summarizes 2015-2018 efforts to identify gaps in healthcare access and allocate resources to communities in greatest need. Lists Primary Care, Mental, and Dental Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designations obtained between 2015 and 2018. Identifies population health priorities related to infant mortality, obesity, smoking, and substance misuse in Indiana.
Author(s): Chipo Chavanduka, Sierra Vaughn, Hannah Maxey
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
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