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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Evaluation methods and resources

State Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit
Toolkit to support state policymakers in expanding the use of telehealth to deliver Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) services. Provides information on telehealth flexibilities under Medicaid and CHIP; billing best practices; strategies for telehealth in value-based care; best practices from states during the COVID-19 public health emergency; strategies to promote the delivery of accessible and culturally competent care via telehealth; evaluation strategies to understand how telehealth affects quality, outcomes, and cost, and more. Offers state policy and operational considerations; information about common telehealth modalities; frequently asked questions for states to consider as they explore whether to expand the use of telehealth; Medicaid managed care and fee-for-service state checklists; and other planning tools. Includes information about using telehealth to deliver services to medically underserved and rural communities, American Indian and Alaska Native individuals, individuals with disabilities, older adults, and other specific populations.
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Methods for Scaling up an Outreach Intervention to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates in Rural Areas
Describes a method for scaling up a rural colorectal cancer (CRC) screening outreach program which utilizes mailed fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) and patient navigation. Discusses planning and implementation, including training and evaluation.
Author(s): Jennifer Coury, Gloria Coronado, Jessica J. Currier, et al.
Citation: Implementation Science Communications, 5, 6
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
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Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Community Pharmacies: A Protocol for a Stepped Wedge Randomized Clinical Trial
Evaluates implementation strategies of rural-located pharmacies looking to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in their communities. Describes how the study will examine intervention fidelity, effectiveness, feasibility, acceptability, adoption, reach, and cost.
Author(s): Geoffrey Curran, Cynthia Mosley, Abigail Gamble, et al.
Citation: Implementation Science, 18, 72
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
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Evaluating Maternal Health Capacity Building in Rural and Underserved Areas: A Research Protocol
Describes a research protocol evaluating a project addressing maternal care shortages in rural and underserved areas of Utah.
Author(s): R.W. Owens, T.C. Whittaker, A. Galt, et al.
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 23(4)
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
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Performance Management/Program Evaluation Guide: Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program
Offers guidance to state Flex program coordinators to incorporate performance management and evaluation into Flex program operations as required by the Flex Program Cooperative Agreement. Supports the state's capacity for assessing program activities, making improvements, and establishing if activities are effective. Defines key terms and concepts, discusses reporting requirements, demonstrates a performance year work plan, covers data collection, and provides examples of goals and measures to be included in the evaluation plan.
Additional links: Flex Program Glossary of Evaluation Terms, Quick List: Flex Program Evaluation Resources
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Health Center Program Site Visit Protocol
Standardized review instrument to conduct operational site visits at health centers in rural and urban areas. Can be used to assess health centers' compliance with federal program requirements and to identify clinical and financial performance improvement areas.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Bureau of Primary Health Care
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Strengthening Two-Generation Initiatives that Support Child Development and Improve Family Economic Security: Insights from the Next Steps for Rigorous Research on Two-Generation Approaches Project
Provides an overview of the two-generation initiative meant to strengthen families through targeted human services that support child development and family economic security. Provides an overview of 4 organizations engaged in the formative evaluation stage of the initiative, focusing on research and implementation, built capacity to improve evaluations, and measurements used to evaluate and improve learning. Includes a case study of the Garrett County Community Action Committee in rural Maryland and their work with the two-generation initiative.
Author(s): Scott Baumgartner, Christine Ross, Emily Sama-Miller, et al.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Administration for Children and Families, Mathematica
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Development and Evaluation of the Delivery-Based HEALED Produce Rx Program for Uninsured Patients With Diabetes in Rural Eastern North Carolina
A program evaluation brief that provides an overview of the Healthy Eating and Active Lifestyle to Enhance Diabetes management (HEALED) program that surveyed patients in 2019 and then delivered plant-based foods to 40 participants as a part of a produce prescription (PRx) program in 2021. Reports on how PRx programs and related resources such as cooking instructions can positively impact diabetes patients. Discusses the importance of performing a needs assessment, pilot programming, and a formative evaluation in rural and underserved programs to remove food access barriers such as lack of transportation and involve participants in their own wellness journeys.
Author(s): Lauren R. Sastre, Brandon Stroud, Elisa Smith, Khadijah Hendrix, Olivia McBride
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 20
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
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CATCH-UP Vaccines: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial Using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) Framework to Evaluate Education Interventions to Increase Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake in Oklahoma
Utilizes the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) to examine interventions that improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake in underserved areas of Oklahoma, including rural. Reviews process improvement, barrier elicitation and reduction, and teachable moment messaging as strategies to reduce vaccine health disparities in rural and underserved populations. Includes a map of Oklahoma showing vaccination rates by ZIP code.
Author(s): Amanda E. Janitz, Jordan M. Neil, Laura A. Bray, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 23
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
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Innovation and Support for Assessing Summative Evaluation Readiness: Lessons Learned
Analyzes the progress of Youth At Risk of Homelessness (YARH), a multiphase grant program that aims to prevent homelessness among youth and young adults involved in the child welfare system. Describes the evaluation process to choose a grantee for the third phase of the program to support the building and disseminating of evidence related to the YARH grantee's service model. Includes discussion about the challenges of collecting evidence in rural areas.
Author(s): Megan J. McCormick, Kelsey Chesnut, M.C. Bradley
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau, Mathematica
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