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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Children and youth

Significant Mediation by Sadness and Self-Injury Is Observed in Associations Between County-Level Cyberbullying Victimization and Youth Suicidality in Rural New York State
Explores the relationship between cyberbullying, traditional bullying, and suicidality in rural counties in New York State. Highlights rates of bullying and cyberbullying, self-harm, recreational screen time, and other measures by demographic characteristic data.
Author(s): Laura E. Jones, Riya Nadkarni, Nicole Krupa
Citation: Journal of Affective Disorders, 401(15), 121270
Date: 05/2026
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Rural-Urban Variation in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Access among Commercially Insured Children and Adolescents
Details a study on the geographic factors that affect access to treatment for youth and adolescents, aged 0-17, with an opioid use disorder (OUD) and covered by commercial insurance in 2019. Discusses the effects of rurality, provider type, travel burden, and residing in a county without a clinician with a DEA waiver, among other measures.
Author(s): C. Holly A. Andrilla, Lisa A. Garberson, Sara C. Woolcock, Janessa M. Graves
Date: 04/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Comparing the Care and Distance Traveled by Rural and Urban Children and Adolescents with Medicaid Insurance and Opioid Use Disorder
Presents a study on the geographic factors that affect access to treatment for youth and adolescents, aged 0-17, with an opioid use disorder (OUD) and enrolled in Medicaid in 2019. Discusses the effects of rurality, travel burden, and residing in a county without a clinician with a DEA waiver, among other measures.
Author(s): Janessa M. Graves, Lisa A. Garberson, Sara C. Woolcock, C. Holly A. Andrilla
Date: 04/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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National Trends in the Potentially Preventable Hospitalization for Pediatric Asthma, 2016-2020
Describes the trends in potentially preventable hospitalizations for asthma among children 2 to 17 years old between 2016 and 2020. Presents data on the rate of potentially preventable hospitalizations for pediatric asthma by hospital characteristics and patient demographics, including the rural classification of hospitals and patient residence.
Author(s): Marvellous Akinlotan, Nima Khodakarami, Gogoal Falia, Alva O. Ferdinand
Date: 04/2026
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
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State Action to Improve Maternal & Child Health with the Rural Health Transformation Program: Virtual Convening of Milbank State Leadership Network Recap
Summarizes a March 2026 meeting for state legislators and executive branch leaders regarding how states are planning to use the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) to address maternal and child health. Describes early implementation strategies presented by leaders from Mississippi, Indiana, and Oklahoma. Discusses how states are aligning funding, infrastructure, and community partnerships to expand access to care and improve outcomes.
Author(s): Mary Louise Gilburg, Morgan McDonald
Date: 04/2026
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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Notes from the Field: Tetanus in Four Children — Idaho, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin, 2024
Reports on four cases of tetanus in children who had not completed a primary tetanus toxoid–containing vaccine (TTCV) series and did not receive TTCV or tetanus immunoglobulin (TIG) after exposure and before illness onset. Two of the four children lived in nonmetro areas.
Author(s): Katherine L. Campbell, Avnika B. Amin, Jessica Goswitz, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 75(14), 192-193
Date: 04/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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April 2026 MACPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's (MACPAC) April 2026 meeting. Covers community engagement requirements in Medicaid, state and federal tools for ensuring accountability of Medicaid managed care plans, the role of the state Medicaid agency in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), pharmacy benefit managers and Medicaid, and more. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 04/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Virginia's Plan for Well-Being: 2025-2029
Offers a data and community-driven roadmap to improve health outcomes and ensure that all Virginians live in conditions that allow them to thrive. Includes statistics on social determinants of health, infant mortality, firearm-related deaths and injury, obesity, mental health, substance use disorder, and housing. Features a county-level map showing rates of drug overdose deaths as of 2021. Mentions rural throughout.
Date: 04/2026
Sponsoring organization: Virginia Department of Health
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Depression and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among Adolescents Aged 12 to 17 in the Rural and Urban U.S., 2021
Offers information on the percentage of adolescents reporting a major depressive episode or suicidal thoughts and behavior in 2021. Features statistics with breakdowns by 7 levels of population density.
Author(s): Janessa M. Graves, Gina A. Keppel, Lisa A. Garberson, C. Holly A. Andrilla
Date: 04/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Alcohol Use Disorder and Marijuana Use Disorder Among Adolescents and Young Adults Aged 12 to 24 in the Rural and Urban U.S., 2021
Describes the past-year prevalence of alcohol use disorder and marijuana use disorder among adolescents and young adults in rural and urban counties and across census divisions, in 2021. Features statistics with breakdowns by 7 levels of population density.
Author(s): Gina A. Keppel, Lisa A. Garberson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Janessa M. Graves
Date: 04/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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