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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Broadband

Health Care's Role in Rural Economic Development: How Broadband Can Improve Health Outcomes
Policy brief exploring how lack of broadband infrastructure and adaptation in rural areas limits access to healthcare. Includes recommendations for policies and actions to improve the rural broadband infrastructure and promote telehealth.
Author(s): Jeremy Cannon
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Association Between Broadband Capacity and Telehealth Utilization Among Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Evaluates the relationship between broadband access and telehealth utilization throughout the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, from January through September 2020, by merging county-level data from 3,107 counties focused on broadband capacity, telehealth utilization by Medicare Fee-for-Service beneficiaries, rural-urban residence, and demographic characteristics.
Author(s): Ambrish A Pandit, Ruchira V Mahashabde, Clare C Brown, et al.
Citation: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 2023
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
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Role of Rural Libraries in Promoting Digital Health Literacy
Webinar highlighting a rural library's efforts to increase digital health literacy and healthcare access in rural Texas. Discusses telehealth, broadband access inequities and digital literacy, transportation issues, aging in place, community health workers working in libraries, emergency response, circulating medical equipment, and summer meals for students. Transcript available in the video description.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Network of the National Library of Medicine
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Forces Driving Change in Rural North Carolina
Examines major forces driving change in rural North Carolina communities, which influence people, communities, and businesses. Includes sections on rural healthcare inequities, social determinants of health, and the long-term impact of COVID-19 on rural people. Features a county-level map showing health outcome rankings as of 2022, and statistics on the number of healthcare professionals per 10,000 people, with breakdowns by urban, suburban, and rural areas.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Center
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2023 County Health Rankings National Findings Report
Analyzes county-level health and wellness data, focusing on issues such as civic infrastructure and socioeconomic opportunity. Includes information on access to broadband, libraries, parks and recreation, schools, and social organizations. Provides U.S. map of county-level life expectancy (LE) and discusses the relationship of LE to civic participation.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps
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Digital Access: A Super Determinant of Health
Discusses how the digital divide intersects with health equity and behavioral health and how telehealth can bridge health disparities. Describes local, state, and federal examples of efforts to reduce the digital divide. Includes a list of funding opportunities and resources promoting broadband access.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Broadband in Kansas: The Challenges of Digital Access and Affordability
Provides an overview of broadband access in Kansas, including adequacy, affordability, digital literacy, and satisfaction. Provides county-level maps depicting data related to broadband access and discusses the rural-urban digital divide.
Author(s): Donna Ginther, Germaine R. Halegoua, Xan Wedel, et al.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Institute for Policy & Social Research
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Office for the Advancement of Telehealth Grantee Directory, 2022-2023
Provides contact information and brief overviews for 72 initiatives across eight grant programs administered by the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth in the 2023 funding year.
Date: 02/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office for the Advancement of Telehealth
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Broadband Funding: Stronger Management of Performance and Fraud Risk Needed for Tribal and Public-Private Partnership Grants
Examines the extent to which the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) administration of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) and Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) aligned with relevant practices for awarding grants, performance management, and fraud risk management. Offers recommendations to NTIA to better measure TBCP and BIP performance and to complete fraud risk management activities.
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Mental Health in Rural New York: Findings and Implications of a Listening Tour with Residents and Professionals
Findings from the Rural Mental Health Listening Tour of New York State, conducted between March 2020 and September 2021 to elicit input and experiences of community members living and working in rural areas. Presents strengths and assets of rural communities, and highlights model programs and success stories. Includes recommendations in categories including access to transportation and broadband, access to mental health programs, availability of services, improving and sustaining workforce capacity, and offers state- and county-specific recommendations.
Author(s): Brett Harris, Katie Gallant, Abby Mariani
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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