Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Appalachia

BuchananCares Program: A Team-based Care Pilot Led by a Rural Community Hospital and Local Pharmacist
Describes BuchananCares, a collaboration among health professionals from the Appalachian College of Pharmacy, Buchanan General Hospital in rural Virginia, and the Virginia Department of Health. Designed to reduce patient readmissions and improve medication use for patients with COPD, diabetes, heart failure, and pneumonia.
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Community Preventive Services Task Force
view details
The Appalachia Mind Health Initiative (AMHI): A Pragmatic Randomized Clinical Trial of Adjunctive Internet-Based Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Treating Major Depressive Disorder among Primary Care Patients
Describes a planned study to evaluate a trial program to address major depressive disorder (MDD) among 3,360 enrolled patients across West Virginia through internet-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Discusses the need for MDD care in rural states and offers an overview of the study's design and methodology.
Author(s): Robert M. Bossarte, Ronald C. Kessler, Andrew A. Nierenberg, et al.
Citation: Trials, 23, 520
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
view details
A Rural Community's Perspective on the Causes of and Solutions to the Opioid Crisis in Southern Virginia: A Qualitative Study
Results of a study to gain insight into the perceptions, knowledge, and experiences of members of a southern Virginia rural community affected by the opioid crisis, to inform the development of local strategies to address the problem. Examines barriers and facilitators to treatment programs and offers recommendations for targeting populations at risk.
Author(s): Angelina J. Hargrove, Carlin Rafie, Emily Zimmerman, Dawn E. Moser
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 22(2), 7152
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
view details
Telemedicine Versus In-Person Primary Care: Impact on Visit Completion Rate in a Rural Appalachian Population
Explores telemedicine use in a primary care clinic in rural West Virginia and its impact on patient access and visit completion rates. Examines visit completion rates of 110,999 patients from January 2019 to November 2020, with patient data broken down by sex, age, marital status, and distance in miles from facility.
Author(s): Treah Haggerty, Heather M. Stephens, Shaylee A. Peckens, et al.
Citation: The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 35(3), 475-484
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
view details
Health Policy Fact Sheet: Racial and Geographic Disparities In Maternal Morbidity and Mortality
Provides an overview of the racial and geographic healthcare disparities in Ohio related to maternal morbidity and mortality. Discusses the need for access to prenatal care, eliminating toxic stress, and utilizing evidence-based strategies to reduce maternal healthcare disparities. Includes discussions specific to rural communities as well as maternal morbidity data broken down by urban, Appalachian, suburban, and rural.
Date: 04/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
view details
Designing a Framework for Remote Cancer Care Through Community Co-Design: Participatory Development Study
Explores the design and implementation of a framework to provide telemedicine cancer care in urban and rural areas of Kentucky. Addresses issues of health disparities and lack of broadband access in geographic areas such as Appalachia. Provides examples of participatory and co-design processes to create telemedicine options and engage communities.
Author(s): Eliah Aronoff-Spencer, Melanie McComsey, Ming-Yuan Chih, et al.
Citation: Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(4)
Date: 04/2022
Type: Document
view details
Agriculture and Local Food Economies in the Appalachian Region
Discusses Appalachia's food systems based on the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) 2017 Census of Agriculture, highlighting the connection to economic and community development, environmental health and safety, and public health. Provides case studies of food banks that improve community access to food as well as produce prescription programs that help treat chronic diseases and promote community health.
Date: 04/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Appalachian Regional Commission
view details
Differences in Distress Between Rural and Non-rural Appalachian Breast Cancer Patient / Caregiver Dyads During the First Year of Treatment
Results of a pilot study measuring self-reported anxiety, depression, and caregiver strain among 48 Appalachian breast cancer patients and their caregivers, as identified by the University of Tennessee Medical Center from 2019-2020. Features demographics and statistics on types of psychological distress at baseline, 6-week, 6-month, and 12-month time frames, with breakdowns by rural or nonrural location.
Author(s): Jordan Tasman, Callie D. McAdams, Jillian Lloyd, Ashton J. Brooks, Patricia Nola Eugene Roberson
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 4(3), 56-70
Date: 03/2022
Type: Document
view details
The Impact of a Grocery Store Closure in One Rural Highly Obese Appalachian Community on Shopping Behavior and Dietary Intake
Results of telephone surveys of people in Martin County, Kentucky, a highly obese community in which healthy food accessibility is scarce and which experienced the closure of a local grocery store in January 2020. Includes demographics for the participants, and compares their food shopping habits at the time of the initial contact with those at the time of a follow-up survey a year later.
Author(s): Rachel Gillespie, Emily DeWitt, Stacey Slone, Kathryn Cardarelli, Alison Gustafson
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6), 3506
Date: 03/2022
Type: Document
view details
They Built My Soul: A Qualitative Analysis of the Impacts of Home Repairs in Rural Tennessee
Reports results of 28 interviews with rural Tennessee residents who received housing repairs from the Appalachia Service Project, a nonprofit ministry focused on housing improvement. Identifies discussion themes and comments related to environmental risk, physical health, mental health, financial well-being, and willingness to receive assistance from service organizations. Discusses housing as a social determinant of health, and highlights rural and Appalachian housing and health needs.
Author(s): Bethesda O'Connell, Ada Sloop, Nicole Intagliata, Melisa Miller, Megan Quinn
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 4(1), 9-19
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
view details