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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Federal Policy to Advance Racial, Ethnic, and Tribal Health Equity
Report explores the role of federal policy in creating or perpetuating racial, ethnic, and tribal health inequities. Discusses how past and current federal policies, directly related to healthcare or not, affect the health and well-being of racial and ethnic minorities, including American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Rural Communities in the United States Face Persistent Disparities in Access to Orthopaedic Surgical Care
Examines trends in the proportion of orthopedic surgeons practicing in rural areas between 2013 to 2018 using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Compare National Downloadable File (PC-NDF). Identifies the proportion of rural U.S. counties with access to orthopedic surgeons. Describes the characteristics associated with surgeons practicing in a rural setting.
Author(s): Victoria S. Wu, Jenna E. Schmidt, Tarun K. Jella, et al.
Citation: The Iowa Orthopaedic Journal, 431(1), 15-21
Date: 2023
Type: Document
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2021 Pennsylvania's Dentist and Dental Hygienist Workforce Survey Report
Presents findings from the 2021 Dentist Survey and 2021 Dental Hygienist Survey, designed to collect information on the characteristics and distribution of the dentist and dental hygienist workforces in Pennsylvania. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pennsylvania Department of Health
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Closing the Opportunity Gap for Young Children
Discusses the factors that cause inequities and limited access to resources for young children, such as poverty, food insecurity, abuse and violence, lack of social and emotional safety, inadequate healthcare and schooling, and more. Discusses policy and practices aimed at reducing opportunity gaps, with a focus on historically disadvantaged populations, including those in rural areas.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2023
Provides a national and state-by-state overview of population health for older adults across 52 measures using data from 22 unique data sources. Covers social and economic factors, physical environment, clinical care, behaviors, and health outcomes. Highlights health disparities, including rural-urban disparities, across five categories of health. Includes state-by-state summaries and county-level maps for risk of social isolation by state.
Additional links: County-Level Maps for Risk of Social Isolation
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: United Health Foundation
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Hidden Crisis: Pediatric Oral Health In Rural America
Highlights barriers to rural pediatric oral health, along with proposed solutions. Examines Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas, oral health literacy, and needed Medicaid reforms. Features model oral health programs in Washington, Montana, North Dakota, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, and includes profiles of several rural providers.
Author(s): Michael A. Ignelzi, Tegwyn Brickhouse, Erica Caffrey, et al.
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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Closure of Labor & Delivery Units in Rural Counties Is Associated with Reduced Adequacy of Prenatal Care, Even When Prenatal Care Remains Available
Examines adequacy of prenatal care following the closure of labor and delivery units in rural Iowa counties using birth certificate information from 47 rural counties between 2017 and 2019. Compares rural counties with a closure to those without a closure. Examines the difference in impact for Medicaid and non-Medicaid patients, age, race and ethnicity, educational attainment, and more.
Author(s): Stephanie M. Radke, Laurel Smiens, Kelly K. Ryckman, Thomas S. Gruca
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(4), 746-755
Date: 2023
Type: Document
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Common Problems, Common Solutions: Looking Across Sectors at Strategies for Supporting Rural Youth and Families Tool-Kit
Provides an overview of barriers faced by rural communities in supporting youth and families, and innovative strategies to improve outcomes for youth, families, and communities. Informed by interviews and listening sessions with practitioners and leaders working in rural areas across the United States.
Author(s): Lisa Pilnik, Christine Humowitz
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, U.S. Department of Justice
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Early Interventions for Psychosis - First Episodes and High Risk Populations: Proceedings of a Workshop
Highlights the proceedings of a 2022 workshop hosted by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine and discusses how early interventions can improve outcomes for those who are as high risk of behavioral health issues. Details the challenges rurality can present to providers and patients.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Forum on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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5-Year Strategic Plan: How Primary Care Investments Can Increase Access, Improve Quality, Lower Costs, Promote Health Equity & Address Workforce Needs
Details the New Mexico strategic plan to improve primary care by increasing access, improving healthcare quality, implementing financing reforms, promoting workforce sustainability, and integrating behavioral health into primary care. Discusses issues disproportionately represented in rural and frontier areas and provides county-level maps depicting social vulnerability and Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) recipients. Provides models and best practices in primary care with examples specific to rural areas.
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: New Mexico Primary Care Council
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