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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Engaging Rural Residents in Patient-Centered Health Care Research
Describes the process of engaging rural patients and caregivers to explore and understand rural perspectives surrounding the patient-centered medical home model. Discusses engagement efforts and lessons learned from analyzing rural residents' engagement in healthcare research.
Author(s): Michelle Levy, Cheryl Holmes, Amy Mendenhall, Whitney Grube
Citation: Patient Experience Journal, 4(1), 46-53
Date: 2017
Type: Document
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Neglected for Too Long: Dental Care for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Policy brief describing scarcity of dental care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, due to a shortage of properly trained dental care providers and exceptionally long distances many patients must travel to receive adequate care.
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Council on Disability
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Utah's Dentist Workforce, 2017: A Study on the Supply and Distribution of Dentists in Utah
Analyzes the dental workforce in Utah to assess supply and demand in urban and rural areas. Includes statistics, such as licensed dentists practicing status and demographic characteristics of dentists and patients. Covers dental practice characteristics, such as specialty, practice setting, geographic distribution, practice hours, and accessibility.
Author(s): Jenna Christensen
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Utah Health Workforce Information Center
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Critical Need Counties in Broadband & Health - Rural 2017
Identifies counties with a critical need related to both broadband access and health, based on data related to broadband access, internet adoption, diabetes, and obesity. Only counties with a majority of the population living in rural areas and a total population equal to or exceeding 15,000, the median population for rural counties were considered for inclusion.
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Communications Commission
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Best Practices in Rural Regional Mobility
Details a report on the best practices of state transit programs that fill the gaps between intercity and rural public transportation. Highlights effective program case studies from across the country and presents a detailed toolkit for program development.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Transportation Research Board
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2017 Minnesota Statewide Health Assessment
Reports on an assessment of health for the people of Minnesota. Includes rural specific information on race/ethnicity, access to oral care, income, transportation, public water sources, food access, and healthcare. Provides maps of population changes since 1990 and health provider shortage areas by county.
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Health
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Bridging Gaps in Mental Health Care: Lessons Learned from the Welcome Back Veterans Initiative
Details a study on the role of privately funded programs filling in the gaps between the Military Health System (MHS), the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and civilian healthcare providers in providing mental healthcare to veterans returning from deployment.
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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Public Transportation's Impact on Rural and Small Towns: A Vital Mobility Link
Presents a report on rural and small-town public transportation. Looks at specific groups of non-drivers that require some form of public transportation, as well as the different types of transit and the advantages they present to small, rural communities. Provides several case studies and discusses a number of myths about public transportation in rural areas.
Author(s): Todd Litman
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Public Transportation Association
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What's Next? Practical Suggestions for Rural Communities Facing a Hospital Closure
Presents alternative healthcare solutions for rural Texas communities that are facing a rural hospital closure. Examines the current state of healthcare delivery and outlines the regulatory and legislative obstacles to maintaining rural hospital services. Appendices provide additional information including maps of rural Texas hospital closures, a list of useful resources, reflections from rural hospital leaders, and more.
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: A&M Rural and Community Health Institute, Episcopal Health Foundation
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Saving the Last Grocery Store
Describes how a rural Colorado community re-opened its only grocery store as a co-op, after a severe blizzard that cut off the town for days made the need for a local store apparent to residents. Discusses the challenges facing rural grocery stores.
Author(s): Lorraine Armstrong
Citation: Rural Cooperatives, 84(3), 12-15
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Rural Development
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