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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Adults With Diabetes Residing in "Food Swamps" Have Higher Hospitalization Rates
Measures the ratio of fast food outlets to grocers in 784 locations across 15 states, and estimates the association of food swamp severity and hospitalization rates. Includes statistics with breakdowns by mostly urban, mostly rural, and completely rural locations.
Author(s): Aryn Z. Phillips, Hector P. Rodriguez
Citation: Health Services Research, 54(1), Part II, 217-225
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
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Health Services Research Special Issue - Putting Patients First: Today's Disparity Research Leading to Health Equity Tomorrow
Special issue including articles on chronic disease in rural areas compared with urban areas, the connection between all-cause hospitalizations and residence in rural food swamps, patient experience across racial and ethnic groups and geographic areas, access to healthcare, and the impact on rural areas where Medicaid was not expanded under the Affordable Care Act. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural locations.
Citation: Health Services Research, 54(1), Part II
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Increasing Access to Contraception: Rural Health
Offers strategies and best practices to address identified challenges and barriers to increasing access to contraception and related healthcare services in rural areas.
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Opioid Use Disorder: Challenges and Opportunities in Rural Communities
Discusses challenges rural communities face in providing access to evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Identifies federal and state strategies to address treatment capacity, including expanding the workforce authorized to prescribe buprenorphine and using technology to provide treatment. Highlights how Scott County, Indiana responded to an HIV outbreak related to OUD by addressing the barriers to care faced by people with OUD and HIV.
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pew Charitable Trusts
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How Primary Care Affects Health Care Costs and Outcomes
Recording of a February 5, 2019, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on the impact of primary care on healthcare outcomes and costs. Testimonies include rural-relevant considerations and address direct care primary care practices, employer strategies such as worksite clinics, the impact of Project ECHO, and more.
Additional links: Joshua J. Umbehr Testimony, Katherine Bennett Testimony, Sapna Kripalani Testimony
Date: 02/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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Rural Report: Challenges Facing Rural Communities and the Roadmap to Ensure Local Access to High-Quality, Affordable Care
Reports on continuing, current, and emerging challenges for rural hospitals working to provide access to healthcare services in rural communities. Includes discussion on policy recommendations to improve access and covers new models of care, reimbursement policies, regulatory requirements, telehealth, workforce issues, and prescription drug costs.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Infographic
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Disability in America: People with Independent Living (IL) Difficulty (2017)
Displays the rate of adults who have difficulty doing errands alone using county-level data from the 2013-2017 American Community Survey (ACS).
Date: 01/2019
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities
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Delivery of Preventive Oral Health Services by Rurality: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
Examines the integration of oral health and primary care as a method of increasing access to preventive oral health services for children under age 6 using 2012-2014 Medicaid claims data from 39 states. Includes patient characteristics, such as age, sex, and poverty level, as well as healthcare utilization rates, with breakdowns by metro and nonmetro counties.
Author(s): Caroline K. Geiger, Ashley M. Kranz, Andrew W. Dick, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 35(1), 3-11
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
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County of Residence and Screening Practices among Latinas and Non-Latina Whites in Two Rural Communities
Discusses mammographic screening among Latina and non-Latina White residents of two rural counties in eastern Washington. Analyzes questionnaire data representing county-level differences in screening rates based on ethnicity, sociodemographic information, age, and predictors of breast cancer-screening participation. Presents this study in relation to broader educational efforts to increase rates of clinical breast exams.
Author(s): Cathrine Duggan, Yamile Molina, Elizabeth Carosso, Genoveva Ibarra, Beti Thompson
Citation: Ethnicity and Disease, 29(1), 31-38
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
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Safety of Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Use in Children From Rural Versus Urban Settings Receiving Long-term Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy
Presents a study examining the potential complication rates from a peripherally inserted central catheter for children in rural and urban settings. Breaks down patient data by age, race, and distance to nearest trauma center, among other measures.
Author(s): Natasha Beachum, Walter Dehority
Citation: Hospital Pediatrics, 9(1), 51-54
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
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