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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Telemedicine Visits in US Skilled Nursing Facilities
Results of a study of telemedicine use in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), using data from over 4.4 million residents at 15,434 SNFs. Features statistics including characteristics of SNFs in the top quartile by telemedicine use in 2020 to 2021, with breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, small urban, and rural areas, and state-level maps with shadings showing rates of telemedicine use in SNFs from 2019-2022.
Author(s): Agne Ulyte, Ateev Mehrotra, Andrew D. Wilcock, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(8)
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Availability of Primary Care Safety Net Providers in Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Group Areas
Explores the availability of primary care safety net providers - Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) - nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition in 2020. Provides data on the median distance to any FQHC by ZCTA urban-rural status and minoritized ethnic and racial group (MRG) category, as well as the median distance to an RHC by MRG ZCTA status among rural ZCTAs.
Author(s): Melinda A. Merrell, Whitney E. Zahnd, Gabriel A. Benavidez, et al.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Availability of Dialysis Facilities in Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Group Areas
Explores the availability of dialysis facilities nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition. Provides data on driving distances to the nearest dialysis facility by ZCTA rurality, minoritized ethnic and racial group category, and frontier and remote (FAR) designation.
Author(s): Janice C. Probst, Peiyin Hung, Gabriel Benavidez, Abbey Hunter, Jan M. Eberth
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Summer Food for Children: An Overview of Federal Aid
Provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Highlights changes to the SFSP made in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, including the permanent authorization of the nationwide Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) Program for Children, and allowing Seamless Summer Option (SSO) sponsors to provide meals for off-site consumption to children in rural areas without access to congregate meal sites.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Ensuring Age-Friendly Public Health in Rural Communities: Challenges, Opportunities, and Model Programs
Discusses the components of age-friendly environments and how to support public health efforts that improve the lives of aging residents in rural areas. Provides data related to rural technology access, rural versus urban poverty rates and healthcare provider workforce, and county-level U.S. maps of percentage of population aged 65 or older and rural versus urban majority communities. Includes innovations and recommendations for age-friendly public health systems.
Author(s): M. Aaron Guest, Megan Wolfe, Karon Phillips, Jane Hook
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Trust for America's Health
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KFF Tracking Poll July 2023: Substance Use Crisis And Accessing Treatment
Provides results of a poll focused on the impact of substance use on American families, such as experiences with addiction, social and mental health impacts of substance use, and potential outcomes of substance use such as homelessness or need for medical care. Includes information specific to opioid use with results categorized by race/ethnicity and community type, including urban, suburban, and rural.
Author(s): Grace Sparks, Alex Montero, Ashley Kirzinger, Isabelle Valdes, Liz Hamel
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Medicaid's Coverage Role in Small Towns and Rural Areas
Discusses the roles Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) play in providing health coverage to residents of small towns and rural areas. Presents data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) on the percentage of children and adults covered by Medicaid and CHIP in 2020-2021. Includes a list of the top 20 small towns and rural areas with the highest share of children and adults covered by Medicaid.
Author(s): Aubrianna Osorio, Joan Alker, Edwin Park
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute
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Maintaining Patient Access to Care in Rural America
A recorded webinar that discusses federal priorities and policy efforts related to rural healthcare, with a focus on a successful model implemented in Arizona that aims to improve patient access to hospital services. Transcript available by clicking the dots above the video description, then selecting Show transcript.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Food for Thought - Facing the Facts About Food Insecurity: Episode 2
Podcast episode discussing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research on food insecurity in rural areas. Describes the prevalence of food insecure households, behavioral responses to food insecurity, and how USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) research and data can inform policy and community-driven solutions.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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The Relationship between Experience with Mental Illness and Stigmatizing Attitudes and Beliefs
Policy brief documenting the relationship between self-reported experience with any mental illness and public stigma associated with mental illness. Features demographics with breakdowns by urban and rural locations.
Author(s): Kate E. Beatty, Stephanie M. Mathis, Amy E. Wahlquist, Michael B. Meit
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Equity Research Center
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