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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Patterns of Health Care Use among Rural-Urban Medicare Beneficiaries Age 85 and Older, 2010-2017
Policy brief examining how rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries age 85+ differ in terms of their socioeconomic and health characteristics that may inform healthcare use. Features statistics on trends in healthcare use, including inpatient and emergency department care, outpatient and prescription services, specialists and dentists, and home health and durable medical equipment, with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Author(s): Yvonne Jonk, Heidi O'Connor, Amanda Burgess, Carly Milkowski
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Rethinking Rurality: Using Hospital Referral Regions to Investigate Rural-Urban Health Outcomes
Examines the relationship between the proportion of rural population served in each of the 306 hospital referral regions (HRRs) and health outcomes, healthcare spending and utilization, and access to and quality of primary care. Explores whether mortality differences in HRRs are associated with differences in price-adjusted Medicare reimbursements, quality of primary care, and access to primary care.
Author(s): Lucy Skinner, Sandra Wong, Carrie Colla
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 1312
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
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EMS Listening Sessions: Report to the Governor's Healthcare Task Force
A summary of 6 listening sessions on emergency medical services in Wyoming. Discusses issues and potential solutions related to essential service designation, EMS districts, regionalization, education and licensing, reimbursement, the use of 911, and defining critical care. Discusses rural and frontier issues throughout.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Wyoming Department of Health
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Rural Medicare Beneficiaries are Increasingly Likely to Be Admitted to Urban Hospitals
Examines whether the proportion of rural Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries admitted to urban hospitals increased between 2010 and 2018 using data from the Hospital Service Area File (HSAF) and the American Hospital Association (AHA) survey. Explores whether distance to the nearest hospital and system affiliation of the nearest rural hospital were associated with increases in urban hospital admissions from rural ZIP codes.
Author(s): Hannah R. Friedman, George Mark Holmes
Citation: Health Services Research, 57(5), 1029-1034
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
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Ohio 2023-2026 State Plan on Aging
Highlights the state's health, equity, and justice goals for aging Ohioans. Notes priorities in the areas of community conditions, healthy living, access to care, social connectedness, population health, and preserving independence including those of particular importance to rural or Appalachian residents.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Ohio Department of Aging
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Rural and Urban Differences in Care Provided by Home Health Agencies in the United States: A Review of the Literature
Explores the differences in care outcomes for rural and urban home health agencies (HHAs). Discusses some of the barriers faced by rural HHAs, such as overcoming long distances, increased costs, and workforce limitations, among others.
Author(s): Denise D. Quigley, Ashley M. Chastain, Jung A. Kang, et al.
Citation: The Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, 23(10), 1653.e1-1653.e13
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
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Using Maps to Inform Decisions about Child Care and Early Education
Discusses how utilizing maps can assist childcare and early education (CCEE) leaders and partners in the planning of policy, resource allocation, supply building, and family support strategies. Provides county-level examples of maps and discusses technical considerations related to making local decisions about CCEE availability and access.
Author(s): Van-Kim Lin, Erin Bumgarner, Dayne Ornelas Gonzalez, Kelly Maxwell
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Administration for Children and Families, Child Trends
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The Intersection of Workplace and Environmental Exposure on Health in Latinx Farm Working Communities in Rural Inland Southern California
Analyzes access and barriers to healthcare services for Eastern Coachella Valley rural farmworkers who are exposed to workplace and environmental health risks. Reports on 9 culturally responsive in-home interviews conducted from 2017 to 2018 with the assistance of a bilingual Spanish-Purépecha Latina promotora. Provides demographic information of participants and quotes from interviews related to themes such as environmental exposures, including the nearby Salton Sea; agricultural labor and its impact on health; chronic health conditions and trauma of exposures; and community-proposed solutions.
Author(s): Ann Marie Cheney, Tatiana Barrera, Katheryn Rodriguez, Ana María Jaramillo López
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12940
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
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Opioid Abuse among Rural Adults
Examines the impact of the opioid abuse epidemic among rural adults in 2022 and changes since 2017. Covers rural access to mental health treatment, how comfortable rural adults with opioid addiction are discussing their concerns with others, perceptions of opioid abuse and its causes, and potential solutions to the opioid crisis.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Farm Bureau Federation
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October 2022 MACPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's (MACPAC) October 2022 meeting. Covers Medicaid race and ethnicity data collection and reporting, improving access to Medicaid coverage and care for adults leaving incarceration, the unwinding of the Public Health Emergency, streamlining the delivery of home- and community-based services, potential recommendations for structuring Disproportionate Share Hospital allotments during economic crises, and more. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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