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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare needs and services

Physician Engagement in Addressing Health-Related Social Needs and Burnout
Results of a 2022 study exploring physicians' engagement in addressing health-related social needs and its association with burnout. Supplementary material features statistics including geographic location with breakdowns by greater or less than 20% rural patient care.
Additional links: Supplementary Content
Author(s): Masami Tabata-Kelly, Xiaochu Hu, Michael J. Dill, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(12), e2452152
Date: 12/2024
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Associations Between Rural Hospital Closures and Acute and Post-Acute Care Access and Outcomes
Examines the impact of rural hospital closures on hospital and post-acute care (PAC) use and outcomes. Analyzes 32 rural hospital closures and county-level impacts on travel distances, lengths of stay at hospitals, hospital charges, PAC episodes, fall injuries and related mortality and hospitalizations, and population-level hospitalization and death rates. Includes descriptive statistics of 2014-2018 rural hospital closure status.
Author(s): Geoffrey J. Hoffman, Jinkyung Ha, Zhaohui Fan, Jun Li
Citation: Health Services Research
Date: 12/2024
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Women Veterans Health Care in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: A Report of the Task Force
Reports on the quality of and access to health care and mental health services for women veterans in Pennsylvania. Explores barriers that women veterans encounter, including eligibility requirements, military sexual trauma, lack of community support systems, and lack of childcare. Mentions rural throughout.
Additional links: Summary
Author(s): Allison Kobzowicz, Stephen J. Kramer, Caitlyn Christie, Wendy L. Baker
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Joint State Government Commission, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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Select Committee on Advancing Rural and Small Town Health Care Final Report - To the General Assembly of Virginia
Recommendations for improvement in healthcare in rural Virginia, based on information from meetings with providers and citizens in rural areas. Areas of focus are health workforce, maternal health, dental care, obesity, telehealth, and transportation.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Commonwealth of Virginia, House Select Committee on Advancing Rural and Small Town Health Care
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Mapping Geographic Access to Illinois Birthing Hospitals, 2016–2023
Examines geographic access to birthing hospitals between 2016 to 2023 for women of reproductive age in Illinois. Includes maps showing driving times to hospitals and closed hospitals in the state, as well as changing levels of access for rural and urban women.
Author(s): Barbara C. Keino, Mechelle D. Claridy, Laurin Kasehagen, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 21
Date: 12/2024
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Report to the 2025 Legislature: Annual Report on Findings from the Hawai'i Physician Workforce Assessment Project
Reports on Hawaii physician workforce characteristics and shortages by county and specialty. Summarizes activities to support the physician workforce, including recruitment, rural training, and mentoring programming. Offers data on shortages by specialty and by county, as well as physician supply and demand data.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Hawaii and Pacific Basin Area Health Education Centers
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Alabama Vital Statistics, 2022
Statistics on births, deaths, marriage, and population in Alabama in 2022. Includes birth rate, maternal demographics and characteristics, causes of death, divorces and annulments, population estimates, and more. Provides county-by-county data, including county-level maps.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Alabama Department of Public Health
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Disparities and Gaps in Breast Cancer Screening for Women Aged 40 to 49 Years
Analyzes disparities in breast cancer screening among women aged 40 to 49 years, utilizing National Health Interview Survey data for the years 2019 and 2021. See included Figure and Table for rural-urban comparisons.
Author(s): Tianshu Gu, Jing Yuan, Shelley White-Means, Minghui Li
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(12), e2451827
Date: 12/2024
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Suicide Care in Kentucky Hospitals
Provides an overview of suicide-related visits in Kentucky hospitals and emergency departments, recent changes, and patient demographics. Features statistics including percentages of suicide-related visits in 2017-2023 in rural and urban Kentucky hospitals, and a county-level map showing locations of psychiatric hospitals.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Kentucky Hospital Association
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December 2024 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) December 2024 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for physician and other health professional services, hospital inpatient and outpatient services, Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), skilled nursing facility services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, home health services, hospice services, and outpatient dialysis services.
Additional links: Assessing Payment Adequacy and Updating Payments: Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient Services; and Mandated Report on Rural Emergency Hospitals - Presentation Slides, Assessing Payment Adequacy and Updating Payments: Skilled Nursing Facility Services - Presentation Slides
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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