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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Behavioral health

American Communities Experience Deaths of Despair at Uneven Rates
Analyzes nationally representative data from 2014-2018 on deaths of despair (DoD), or deaths resulting from substance use or suicide. Includes county-level statistics on DoD, with information broken down by rurality and race/ethnicity.
Author(s): Dante Chinni
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Communities Project
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Strategies for Rural Communities for Addressing Substance Misuse among Families Involved with the Child Welfare System
Describes nine programs across seven states that have addressed challenges to serving child welfare-involved parents with substance use issues through mentoring, case management, providing access to treatment and affordable housing, and other support services. Discusses considerations for expanding and replicating these programs in rural communities.
Additional links: Research Summary
Author(s): Jung Kim, Elizabeth Clary, Christina Ribar, Sarah Palmer, Elizabeth Weigensberg
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Mathematica
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Left Out: Barriers to Health Equity for Rural and Underserved Communities
Summarizes responses to a Request for Information from the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee's Rural and Underserved Communities Health Task Force. Describes factors contributing to healthcare challenges in rural areas, including demographics, social and structural determinants of health, insurance coverage, access to care, and workforce shortages. Highlights promising models of healthcare delivery in rural areas. Includes state-by-state health equity maps.
Additional links: State and Territory Health Equity Maps, Summary
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: House Ways and Means Committee
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Supporting the Health and Wellbeing of Middle-Aged Adults Living Alone in Rural Counties
Results of a study exploring the characteristics of adults ages 35-64 who live alone, and the heightened health risks and challenges related to social isolation, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Uses data from a survey of 14 healthcare providers in rural counties with a high percentage of middle-aged adults living alone. Features a county-level map with breakdowns by percentage of people living alone in rural areas.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Mariana Tuttle, Ashley Hernandez, Jonathan Schroeder, Katy Kozhimannil
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Pennsylvania Mental Health Care Workforce Shortage: Challenges and Solutions: A Staff Study
Provides a discussion of mental healthcare workforce occupations and examines the factors that led to shortages in these fields. Describes how telemedicine can be used to extend the mental healthcare workforce in rural Pennsylvania and determines how state government entities can encourage more people to enter and remain in the mental healthcare workforce. Makes recommendations including increasing the number of psychiatric residencies in rural areas and designating more Rural Health Clinics. Includes a county-level map of Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas.
Author(s): Grant Rosul, Stephen J. Kramer, Wendy L. Baker
Date: 06/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Joint State Government Commission, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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Developing and Implementing Farm Stress Training to Address Agricultural Producer Mental Health
Offers an overview of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency online training program for agribusiness professionals to offer mental health resources to farmers and ranchers. Describes issues of mental healthcare access for rural and farm populations and the process of developing the training program, as well as challenges, successes, and practical implications of the program.
Author(s): Courtney Cuthbertson, Alison Brennan, John Shutske, et al.
Citation: Health Promotion Practice, 1524839920931849
Date: 06/2020
Type: Document
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Suicide Rates on the Rise: National Trends and Demographics in Suicide Deaths from 2000 to 2018
Brief details the national trends in deaths by suicide from 2002-2018 by demographics, such as age, race, gender, and urbanization, among others. Includes a state-level brief that highlights suicide trends by state.
Additional links: State-level Brief
Date: 06/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: State Health Access Data Assistance Center
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Improving Mental Health Care by Understanding the Culture of Farming and Rural Communities
Session one of a four-part webinar series on the interplay of COVID-19 and the mental health crisis in rural and agricultural communities. Discusses co-occurring substance use disorders, telehealth, and provider compassion fatigue, among other issues.
Additional links: Session 2: Approaching and Treating Co-Occurring Mental and Substance Use Disorders in Farming and Rural Communities, Session 3: Providing Mental Health Telehealth Services in Farming and Rural Communities, Session 4: Co-Occurring Mental and Substance Use Disorders in Farming and Rural Communities: Assessment, Ethics, and Preventing Compassion Fatigue
Date: 06/2020
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network, Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center
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Social Determinants of Health and County Population Rates of Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits, 2016
Examines characteristics of U.S. counties, comparing counties with high and low rates of opioid-related inpatient stays and treat-and-release emergency department (ED) visits among patients 15 years and older. Includes data for metro, rural adjacent to metro, and rural remote counties, as well as by urban-rural location and poverty rate.
Author(s): Pamela L. Owens, Audrey J. Weiss, Marguerite L. Barrett, Lawrence D. Reid
Date: 06/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Provision of Mental Health Services by Critical Access Hospital-Based Rural Health Clinics
Examines the extent to which Critical Access Hospital (CAH)-based Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) provide mental health services. Describes the characteristics and staffing patterns of CAH-based RHCs that offer these services. Explores challenges of providing mental health services at RHCs and strategies for integrating mental health and primary care services.
Author(s): John Gale, Zacharia Croll, Nathan First, Sara Kahn-Troster
Date: 06/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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