This website is being reviewed for updates. Some information is offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Aging and aging-related services

There's No Place Like Home: Home Health Care in Rural America
Recording of testimony by providers of rural home health care and representatives of home health and hospice organizations, in a hearing held by the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging on February 12, 2020. Addresses challenges including workforce shortages and limitations in Medicare coverage for needed services.
Additional links: Testimony of Francis Adams, Testimony of Leigh Ann Howard, Testimony of Warren Hebert, Testimony of William A. Dombi
Date: 02/2020
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging
view details
Options for Rural Health Care Delivery in Maryland
Presents a high-level overview of rural health care delivery options and considerations for future access to health services in Kent and upper Queen Anne's Counties and other rural Maryland communities. Features demographics and statistics on inpatient discharges from 2014-2018.
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
view details
Life Beyond 65: Changing Spatial Patterns of Survival at Older Ages in the United States, 2000–2016
Examines life expectancy trends among Americans at age 65 between 2000 and 2016. Analyzes data by sex and across 4 metropolitan categories and 10 geographic regions. Considers how causes of death impact the changes in mortality rates over time.
Author(s): Yana C Vierboom, Samuel H. Preston
Citation: The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 1-11
Date: 01/2020
view details
Informal Caregiving and Technology in Rural America
Highlights the challenges caregivers face in rural communities. Discusses how technology can offer potential solutions and identifies barriers to those solutions, such as broadband connectivity. Features Avera Health's eCare Senior Care, which provides a range of technology-assisted care services for assisted living and senior housing programs, as well as long-term care facilities.
Author(s): Tami Lichtenberg
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Access to Specialty Care for Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural Communities
Findings from a voluntary online survey conducted in 2019 of 111 Rural Health Clinic (RHC) staff, from 27 states, to identify the most difficult specialty healthcare service to access, and why it is the most difficult to access. Conducts an analysis of RHC distance to the nearest hospital or clinic to determine variation in difficulty accessing specialty services.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Hannah Neprash, Carrie Henning-Smith, Mariana S. Tuttle, Ashley M. Hernandez
Date: 12/2019
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details
The Impact of the Opioid Epidemic on the Aging Services Network and the Older Adults They Serve
Report highlights the results of a survey of National Council on Aging (NCOA) grantees and partners on the effect of the opioid epidemic on older adults. Details the percentage of respondents from rural areas and offers recommendations and resources to address the epidemic among the aging population.
Date: 12/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Council on Aging
view details
Self-Identified Barriers to Rural Mental Health Services in Iowa by Older Adults with Multiple Comorbidities: Qualitative Interview Study
Highlights a study on the perceived barriers to mental healthcare for chronically ill elders in rural Iowa. Bases finding on phone interviews with participants where they detailed their experiences accessing mental healthcare. Breaks down data by age, sex, and mental health diagnosis, among other factors.
Author(s): Lauren Elizabeth Pass, Korey Kennelty, Barry L Carter
Citation: BMJ Open, 9(11), e029976
Date: 11/2019
view details
Partnership Integration for Rural Health Resource Access
Describes an interdisciplinary partnership model combining nursing, public health, and gerontology to address the health and social challenges affecting older adults living in rural areas. Offers steps for developing an interdisciplinary partnership and highlights a model utilizing clinical and non-clinical disciplines to improve rural health resource access.
Author(s): Teresa Sharp, Joyce Weil, Audrey Snyder, et al.
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 19(4), 5335
Date: 11/2019
view details
Loneliness in the United States: A 2018 National Panel Survey of Demographic, Structural, Cognitive, and Behavioral Characteristics
Highlights a cross-sectional study on loneliness in adults in the U.S. Aims to evaluate rates of loneliness by age group, sex, race, and urban or non-urban location, as well as by several other measures. Bases conclusions on the results of a national survey of 20,096 adults.
Author(s): Liana DesHarnais Bruce, Joshua S. Wu, Stuart L. Lustig, Daniel W. Russell, Douglas A. Nemecek
Citation: American Journal of Health Promotion, 33(8), 1123-1133
Date: 11/2019
view details
Nutrition Assistance Programs: Agencies Could Do More to Help Address the Nutritional Needs of Older Adults
Report focuses on the shortcomings of the federal nutrition guidelines in meeting the nutritional needs of older adults. Bases recommendations on interviews with older adults in both rural and urban areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 11/2019
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details