Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Elderly population

Rural Promising Practice Issue Brief: GRECC Connect Project: Connecting Rural Providers with Geriatric Specialists Through Telemedicine
Describes the efforts of the Department of Veterans Affairs to support the rural elderly veteran population through implementation of telemedicine services originating at Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Centers (GRECCs).
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
view details
Hunger in Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for the Aging Services Network
Report details the state of food security in older adults throughout the nation. Examines some of the negative health outcomes caused or worsened by malnutrition at an advanced age. Discusses some of the barriers that inhibit many elderly people from accessing food, such as immobility, lack of transportation, and poverty, among others.
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Meals on Wheels America
view details
Telemedicine and Primary Care Obesity Management in Rural Areas – Innovative Approach for Older Adults?
Explores telemedicine as a potential delivery tool for the Medicare Obesity Benefit in primary care settings. Describes challenges in implementing the benefit in rural areas, including increasing older adult populations, shortages in primary care and specialized healthcare providers, reimbursement issues, and transportation barriers. Presents the potential utility of telemedicine in rural obesity care and non-physician staff delivery options, which require regulatory changes.
Author(s): John Batsis, Sarah Pletcher, James Stahl
Citation: BMC Geriatrics, 17, 6
Date: 01/2017
Type: Document
view details
Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Stay Independent Checklist to Engage a Community of American Indians and Raise Awareness About Risk of Falls, 2016
Describes a program implemented to prevent falls among elders in the Zuni Pueblo community in rural western New Mexico.
Author(s): Janet Popp, Debra L. Waters, Karen Leekity, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 14
Date: 01/2017
Type: Document
view details
Public Transportation's Impact on Rural and Small Towns: A Vital Mobility Link
Presents a report on rural and small-town public transportation. Looks at specific groups of non-drivers that require some form of public transportation, as well as the different types of transit and the advantages they present to small, rural communities. Provides several case studies and discusses a number of myths about public transportation in rural areas.
Author(s): Todd Litman
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Public Transportation Association
view details
Aging in Rural Communities: Older Persons' Narratives of Relocating in Place to Maintain Rural Identity
Uses data from 16 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with older adults living in a rural area to examine their assessment of their current living situation. Seeks to understand the perspective of older persons who move from a rural area to a more populous, but still rural community. Also discusses the influence of overall health status and access to healthcare services when making relocation decisions.
Author(s): Joyce Weil
Citation: Online Journal of Rural Research & Policy, 12(1)
Date: 2017
Type: Document
view details
Tribal Nursing Home Best Practices: Traditional Foods
Presents a guide for tribal nursing homes to develop a traditional food menu for elderly American Indians and Alaska Natives. Discusses the health benefits of traditional foods and the methods for involving elders and the community in the planning and implementing of traditional food menus. Features organizations, case studies, and webinars, among other resources.
Date: 12/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
Rural Promising Practice Issue Brief: Caring for Older Adults and Caregivers at Home (COACH)
Describes the efforts of the Durham Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) to provide home-based care for veterans with moderate to severe dementia and their caregivers, through its COACH program. Helps VA providers to improve access for rural veterans and can be used as a model for other VAMCs.
Additional links: Overview
Date: 11/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
view details
Older Adult Social Participation and Its Relationship with Health: Rural-Urban Differences
Analyzes social participation among older adults and if the relationships between social participation and health differ between rural and urban settings in Wisconsin. Includes study population statistics on current and past self-reported health status, marital status, employment, age, income, social participation, and rurality.
Author(s): Eric M. Vogelsang
Citation: Health & Place, 42, 111-119
Date: 11/2016
Type: Document
view details
Rural Promising Practice Issue Brief: Geriatric Scholars Training Program
Details a Veterans Administration training program model for providers practicing in Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) or in home-based primary care serving elderly (65+) rural veterans. Features examples of promising results, implementation information, and adoption considerations.
Additional links: Overview
Date: 11/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
view details