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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Maternal health and prenatal care

County-Level Availability of Obstetric Care and Economic Implications of Hospital Closures on Obstetric Care
Policy brief providing data on the economic changes in counties that lost obstetric care facilities between 2012-2019. Describes demographic and economic differences between counties with or without obstetric care facilities. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban or rural location and a county-level map with shadings showing availability of obstetric services and hospital closures from 2012-2019.
Author(s): Andrew L. Owen, Alison Davis, Simona Balazs
Date: 07/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health
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Wiping Away the Tears: Addressing Increasing Death in Rural America
Examines rural mortality trends and discusses the impact of the opioid epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic, as well as rural maternal and infant mortality. Describes federally-funded efforts to address rural disparities.
Author(s): Whitney Zahnd
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 07/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Racial Inequities in the Availability of Evidence-Based Supports for Maternal and Infant Health in 93 Rural US Counties with Hospital-Based Obstetric Care
Policy brief describing differences between availability of supports for maternal and infant health in rural counties that are majority-Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and those in majority-White rural counties. Features statistics on community characteristics of rural counties with hospital-based obstetric care.
Author(s): Bridget Basile Ibrahim, Mariana Tuttle, Alyssa H. Fritz, Julia D. Interrante, Katy Backes Kozhimannil
Date: 07/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Advancing Rural Health: Illinois Small and Rural Hospitals
Discusses the overall impact of the 86 small and rural hospitals in Illinois. Includes data on hospital utilization, patient demographics, economic impacts, associated community engagement and healthcare services, workforce and specialty care issues, and more. Provides county-level maps on obstetric services and location of small and rural hospitals.
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Illinois Health and Hospital Association
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Family Level Assessment and State of Home Visiting Outreach and Recruitment Study Report
Examines the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program to identify promising strategies for continued research as well as areas needing technical assistance, improvement, and evaluation. Reports on 266 programs to understand family capacity and need, how to frame outreach, promoting interest in home visits, collaborating with referral partners, and maintaining caseloads. Includes discussions specific to rural community contexts.
Author(s): Susan Zaid, Kim McCombs-Thornton, Leah Childress, et al.
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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Costs of Evidence-Based Early Childhood Home Visiting: Results from the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation
Examines how resources are allocated at Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program-funded local home visiting programs. Estimates the costs for each family served in Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE) and how these costs differ across families, local programs, and evidence-based models. Includes data comparing programs that serve only metropolitan, only nonmetropolitan, and both types of counties.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis
Provides an overview of the maternal health crisis, including maternal mortality and morbidity disparities, and outlines investments and initiatives to address these issues. Presents goals and actions related to access to maternal and behavioral health services, improving data collection and policy, expanding and diversifying the maternal health workforce, and strengthening economic and social supports.
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: The White House
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Maternal Characteristics and Infant Outcomes of Women Born in and Outside the United States: United States, 2020
Describes and compares maternal characteristics and infant outcomes for mothers born in the United States or in regions outside the United States. Includes data by urbanicity of U.S. maternal residence, for nonmetropolitan, small or medium metro, large fringe metro, and large central metro areas, by maternal region and country of birth.
Author(s): Anne K. Driscoll, Claudia P. Valenzuela
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Georgia Counties without Primary Care/Core Practitioners: Based on 2019-2020 Licensure Renewal Data and New Licensees
County-level Georgia maps showing counties without any physicians, and without physicians specializing in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, general surgery, psychiatry, and emergency medicine. Features statistics on numbers of these physicians with breakdowns by county.
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce
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Evaluation of a Family Connects Dissemination to Four High-Poverty Rural Counties
Results from the Family Connects postpartum home visiting program, conducted in 4 high-poverty rural eastern North Carolina counties from September 2014 through December 2015. Features statistics on Family Connects' impact on infant and parental health and well-being, with breakdowns by intervention group and comparison group.
Author(s): W. Benjamin Goodman, Kenneth A, Dodge, Yu Bai, Robert A. Murphy, Karen O'Donnell
Citation: Maternal and Child Health Journal, 26(5), 1067-1076
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
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