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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Perspectives on Rural Caregiving Challenges and Interventions
Policy brief describing challenges and opportunities to support unpaid caregivers in rural areas, based on 34 interviews with 41 key informants, from October 2017 through February 2018. Highlights work that informal caregivers are doing and identifies policy levers that have been used to support them.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Megan Lahr
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Association of State Medicaid Expansion With Rate of Uninsured Hospitalizations for Major Cardiovascular Events, 2009-2014
Results of a study to investigate whether rates of uninsured hospitalizations for cardiovascular events and in-hospital mortality varied by Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion at the state level. Features statistics including demographics with breakdowns by rural or urban/suburban location.
Author(s): Ehimare Akhabue, Lindsay R. Pool, Clyde W. Yancy, Philip Greenland, Donald Lloyd-Jones
Citation: JAMA Network Open 1(4)
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
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Medicare Fee-for-Service: Information on the First Year of Nationwide Reduced Payment Rates for Durable Medical Equipment
Examines the effects of reduced payment rates for certain durable medical equipment (DME) in non-bid areas. Reports on changes in the number of suppliers, utilization of rate-adjusted items, and beneficiaries' access to rate-adjusted items. Includes information on changes in rural and non-rural non-bid areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Medicaid Income Eligibility Transitions Among Rural Adults
Research and policy brief examining the extent to which incomes of rural and urban residents shifted above or below the Medicaid expansion eligibility threshold during 2010. Features statistics with breakdowns by expansion and non-expansion states, rural or urban location, and starting income as a percent of federal poverty level.
Author(s): Erika Ziller, Deborah Thayer, Jennifer D. Lenardson
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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The HPV Vaccine: Access and Use in the U.S.
Fact sheet discussing HPV and related cancers, HPV vaccines, insurance coverage, and access. Includes statistics from 2011-2015 showing racial and ethnic disparities in cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates, and vaccination coverage as of 2016 among female adolescents with breakdowns by urban or rural status and by state.
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Increasing Colorectal Cancer Screening in Health Care Systems Using Evidence-Based Interventions
Evaluation results for the first program year of the Colorectal Cancer Control Program, a CDC-funded initiative intended to increase screening by primary care and gastroenterological providers among medically underserved populations. Features statistics on participating primary care clinics and screening-eligible patient population counts, with breakdowns by metro, urban, and rural locations.
Author(s): Amy DeGroff, Krishna Sharma, Anamika Satsangi, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 15
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
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Emerging Strategies to Ensure Access to Health Care Services: Rural Hospital-Health Clinic Integration
Provides an overview of the benefits of sharing resources between rural hospitals and clinics, including Federally Qualified Health Centers. Offers suggestions for federal policy solutions and actions for hospital and health system to deploy.
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Building a Community Health Worker Program: The Key to Better Care, Better Outcomes, & Lower Costs
A toolkit offering information and strategies to help hospitals and healthcare systems design and implement a community health worker (CHW) program targeted to the communities they serve. Highlights evidence-based best practices, sustainable financing of CHW activities, engaging stakeholders, and suggests outcome measures. Provides a chapter of case studies on rural, urban, and suburban settings.
Author(s): Beth A. Brooks, Sheila Davis, Loraine Frank-Lightfoot, et al.
Date: 07/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: American Hospital Association, CommunityHealth Works
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Adult Experts' Perceptions of Telemental Health for Youth: A Delphi Study
Study exploring telemental health treatment based on online surveys of 25 adult experts, including mental health professionals, adults who experienced depression or suicidality as youth, and parents of youth with similar experiences, following the Delphi process. Discusses barriers to youth access to mental health services in rural and urban areas, including stigma, provider shortages, and transportation issues. Survey results also address the need for support of telemental health among healthcare organizations, especially in rural areas, and possible delivery modalities.
Author(s): Abigail Howard, Mindy Flanagan, Michelle Drouin, et al.
Citation: JAMIA Open, 1(1), 67-74
Date: 07/2018
Type: Document
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Trends in the Utilisation of Emergency Departments in California, 2005–2015: A Retrospective Analysis
Examines the characteristics of patients utilizing California's emergency departments (EDs) regarding age, sex, race/ethnicity, payer, and urban/rural residence, using data from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.
Author(s): Renee Y Hsia, Sarah H Sabbagh, Joanna Guo,Thomas J Nuckton, Matthew J Niedzwiecki
Citation: BMJ Open, 8(7)
Date: 07/2018
Type: Document
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