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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Maternal health and prenatal care

Improving Rural Maternal Health Care through Network Models: Summary of the RMOMS Program 2021 Cohort
Describes the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) program supporting increased access to maternal healthcare in rural communities and improvement in maternal and neonatal outcomes. Summarizes three RMOMS programs from the 2021 Cohort - Families First: Rural Maternity Health Collaborative (Minnesota), RMOM-Southeast Missouri Partnership, and West Virginia RMOMS Collaborative. Identifies their maternal health service area, network partners, and goals and strategies for improving healthcare access and outcomes.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Review of Rural U.S. Economic and Health Care Trends
Reviews recent literature and publicly available data to explore important issues at the nexus of healthcare and local economic vibrancy, and explores the economic implications associated with COVID-19. Includes sections on rural hospitals, the rural healthcare workforce, emergency medical services, insurance, and telehealth. Features statistics with breakdowns by 6 levels of population density and county-level maps showing Health Professional Shortage Areas and rural counties without obstetrical services.
Author(s): Alison Davis
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health
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Rural and Urban Women Have Differing Sexual and Reproductive Health Experiences
Explores the healthcare disparities women aged 15 to 49 experience related to sexual and reproductive health. Analyzes 2015-2019 data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to investigate contraceptive use in 1,128 rural residents and 6,007 urban residents. Includes rural versus urban demographic breakdowns according to race/ethnicity, nativity, income, education, LGB+ identity, and history of/plans for having children.
Author(s): Emma Pliskin, Kate Welti, Jennifer Manlove
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Child Trends
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Obstetricians, Gynecologists, and Maternal Health in Rural America, with Anne Banfield
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Dr. Anne Banfield, physician administrative and clinical director at Women's Health at Leonardtown in Maryland, and member of the foundation board of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Discusses the rural OBGYN workforce and the challenges of providing maternal care in rural areas.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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"How Do We Get to Them?" Insights on Preconception and Interconception Health for Women in Rural Northwest Ohio
Examines preconception and interconception health concerns for women of a reproductive age living in rural Hardin County. Analyzes semistructured interviews with 14 community participants and discusses 3 themes related to women's health: available resources, community observations about social determinants and access, and potential health intervention strategies.
Author(s): Akia D. Clark, Natalie A. DiPietro Mager
Citation: Ohio Journal of Public Health, 5(1), 85-93
Date: 08/2022
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What Happens When a Hospital Closes?
Podcast episode discussing the impact of rural hospital closures and obstetrics units on their communities. Explores why facilities and units close and the impact of closures on mortality, prenatal care, maternal and infant health outcomes, and access to quality care.
Date: 08/2022
Sponsoring organization: Freakonomics
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Improving Access and Quality of Maternal and Infant Services in Rural Iowa through a Regional Center of Excellence
Profiles St. Anthony Regional Hospital in Carroll, Iowa, which serves six counties in west central Iowa. Discusses the hospital's efforts to improve maternal health and birth outcomes, including improving care coordination, increasing access to support and behavioral health services, and promoting better access to care in the region.
Date: 08/2022
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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An Algorithm Using Administrative Data to Measure Adverse Childhood Experiences (ADM‐ACE)
Article discussing the development and methodology of an administrative data tool to measure adverse childhood experiences (ADM-ACE), which researchers applied to 2018 claims and enrollment data for the Tennessee Medicaid program (TennCare). Presents ADM-ACE statistics drawn from the Tennessee data, and outlines how measures of adverse childhood experiences were defined and applied in the study. Offers rural/urban comparisons for rates of ADM-ACE prevalence.
Author(s): Laura E. Henkhaus, Gilbert Gonzales, Melinda B. Buntin
Citation: Health Services Research, 57(4), 963-972
Date: 08/2022
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Inequities in Availability of Evidence-Based Birth Supports to Improve Perinatal Health for Socially Vulnerable Rural Residents
Examines the social risk factors rural residents face related to maternal and infant mortality. Utilizes data from 285 rural hospitals across the United States that have inpatient birthing centers to measure the availability of maternal and postpartum supports such as breastfeeding support groups, nurse home visiting, childbirth education classes, and more. Evaluates each hospital's social vulnerability index (SVI) on the county-level to determine the level of birth support inequities in rural areas and for residents who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).
Author(s): Bridget Basile Ibrahim, Julia D. Interrante, Alyssa H. Fritz, Mariana S. Tuttle, Katy Backes Kozhimannil
Citation: Children, 9(7), 1077
Date: 07/2022
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Telehealth Strategies for the Delivery of Maternal Healthcare
Presents a rapid review of studies published since 2015 on the use of telehealth for maternal care, highlighting findings related to clinical outcomes, maternal and obstetric health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and other measures. Discusses maternal telehealth's potential as a supplement and as a replacement for in-person care.
Author(s): Amy G. Cantor, Rebecca M. Jungbauer, Annette M. Totten, et al.
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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