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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Maternal health and prenatal care

Accessing Oral Health Care in Rural Areas
A tip sheet that discusses how pregnant people and children struggle to access oral healthcare in rural areas. Provides strategies for Head Start staff to extend oral healthcare access to rural families.
Date: 11/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start
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Improving Access to Care in Underserved Rural Communities: Eighteenth Annual Report to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Congress
Offers policy and program development recommendations to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Congress regarding primary care training and education. Recommendations aim to advance health equity through enhanced support of primary care workforce training to address health barriers in rural and other underserved communities. Covers longitudinal clinical training in rural primary care, integrating oral and behavioral health in primary care, enhancing telehealth capacity, and supporting interprofessional team-based education and practice in maternal-infant care.
Date: 11/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry
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QuickStats: Percentage of Births to Mothers Who Reported Smoking Cigarettes at Any Time During Pregnancy, by Urbanization Level of County of Residence — United States, 2020
Bar chart showing the percentage of women who reported smoking cigarettes at any time during pregnancy for metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore (rural) areas.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 70(47), 1652
Date: 11/2021
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Improving Health in Rural Communities: FY 2021 Year in Review
Provides an overview of Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) programs and activities that have affected rural health and healthcare in fiscal year 2021. Focuses on 10 priority areas: COVID-19, Federally-facilitated and State Marketplaces; Medicare payment and policy; practitioner workforce; Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment, payment, and policy; long-term services and supports; maternal health; mental health and substance use disorders; models and demonstrations, and quality and equity.
Date: 11/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Policies for Reducing Maternal Morbidity and Mortality and Enhancing Equity in Maternal Health: A Review of the Evidence
Examines maternal health in relation to social determinants of health (SDOH), addressing disparities for Black, rural, veteran, and incarcerated mothers. Highlights environmental and healthcare issues, as well as strategies to improve maternal health outcomes through workforce initiatives, data collection, and policy changes.
Author(s): Jodie G. Katon, Daniel A. Enquobahrie, Kate Jacobsen, Laurie Zephyrin
Date: 11/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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Family Physicians in Rural America: Training, Distribution, and Scope of Practice
Webinar presented November 9, 2021, exploring training of family physicians in rural areas, family physician workforce distribution, and rural/urban differences in scope of practice. Features statistics including availability of obstetrical clinicians as of 2019, with breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore locations.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Transcript
Author(s): Lars Peterson, Davis Patterson
Date: 11/2021
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway
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Health Disparities in Rural Women
Discusses the health disparities that exist for rural women in all categories of women's health, including obstetric and gynecologic outcomes and access to care. Covers programs to improve healthcare services for rural women and recommendations to reduce health disparities.
Date: 11/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
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Maternal and Child Health Services Title V Block Grant - American Samoa: FY 2022 Application/FY 2020 Annual Report
Highlights American Samoa's maternal and child health programs. Includes topics related to reducing infant mortality, improving oral and behavioral health, improving access, and COVID-19, among others.
Date: 10/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Maternal and Child Health Services Title V Block Grant - Virgin Islands: FY 2022 Application/FY 2020 Annual Report
Highlights the Virgin Islands' maternal and child health programs. Includes topics related to reducing infant mortality, improving oral and behavioral health, improving access, and COVID-19, among others.
Date: 10/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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County Data Highlight Links between Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome and Placement of Infants in Foster Care
Explores the relationship between neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome and the rate of children entering the foster care system. Summarizes county-level data from eight states and highlights community level factors such as maternal education, healthcare, and rurality, among others.
Date: 10/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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