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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Maternal health and prenatal care

Task Force on Maternal Mental Health: National Strategy to Improve Maternal Mental Health Care
Offers 5 recommendations for improving maternal mental health and associated substance use disorders using a whole-government approach by building infrastructure to improve care. Recommendations discuss federal collaboration, accessibility of care, data gathering, prevention strategies, and engaging those with lived experience. Discusses rural throughout.
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Navigating Geographical Disparities: Access to Obstetric Hospitals in Maternity Care Deserts and Across the United States
Examines disparities related to maternity care access by analyzing travel distances to obstetric care across the United States. Provides data to nearest obstetric hospital by census tract, with further breakdowns according to maternity care desert (MCD) designation, rurality, race/ethnicity, and travel time. Includes U.S. maps showing spatial clusters of distance and travel time to obstetric care.
Author(s): Jazmin Fontenot, Christina Brigance, Ripley Lucas, Ashley Stoneburner
Citation: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 24, 350
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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Health Insurance Coverage and Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence and Postpartum Abuse Screening Among Rural US Residents Who Gave Birth 2016-2020
Examines the relationship among intimate partner violence (IPV), perinatal health insurance coverage, and postpartum IPV screening in rural U.S. communities. Utilizes 2016-2020 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System data to analyze insurance status among rural residents, postpartum visits, and IPV screenings.
Author(s): Katy Backes Kozhimannil, Emily C. Sheffield, Alyssa H. Fritz, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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Challenges and Strategies in Expanding Non-Traditional Pregnancy-Related Services: Findings from a Survey of State Medicaid Programs
Presents Medicaid reimbursement information for non-traditional pregnancy-related services, such as doula care, childbirth and parenting classes, lactation support, and more. Includes commentary on service challenges in rural areas.
Author(s): Anna Mudumala, Kathleen Gifford, Usha Ranji, Elizabeth Hinton
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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2024 Healthy Kansans Plan Update - Supplementary Data and Statistics: Addendum to the 2022 State Health Assessment
Provides information on chronic disease, substance use, and other leading causes of death in Kansas. Includes county-level data on the maternal vulnerability index (MVI) as well as life expectancy, with breakdowns according to White and African American populations.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Department of Health and Environment
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Arizona Rural Maternity Care
Offers data on rural maternity healthcare access and mortality in Arizona. Highlights rural and urban comparisons of healthcare access and health insurance coverage. Includes recommendations for improving access and mortality rates.
Author(s): Bryna Koch, Daniel Derksen
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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Disparities in Maternal Health Visits Between Rural and Urban Communities in the United States, 2016–2018
Analyzes data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System between 2016 and 2018 to compare rural and urban differences in prepregnancy, prenatal, and postpartum healthcare access and quality for 103,425 patients in 40 states, New York City, and Puerto Rico. Includes a rural and urban break down of patient demographics, insurance status, and chronic conditions. Discusses the role telehealth may play in closing gaps in care.
Author(s): Burcu Bozkurt, Arrianna Marie Planey, Monisa Aijaz, et al.
Citation: The Permanente Journal, 2024
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
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Rural Maternal Health Series: Implementing Patient Safety Bundles in Rural Hospitals
Webinar recording, third in a series, discusses the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) bundles, a standardized set of processes for improving maternal healthcare quality and safety in rural hospitals. Features presentations from representatives of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM), the Iowa Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, and Gundersen Palmer Hospital in West Union, Iowa.
Additional links: Audio Recording, Webinar Slides
Date: 04/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Meeting Essential Health Services And Reimagining Obstetrics In A Rural Community
Case study profiling Kittitas Valley Healthcare (KVH) in rural Washington. Describes how KVH implemented a new staffing model to maintain essential obstetrics and gynecological care.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Evaluating a Web-Based Training Curriculum for Disseminating Best Practices for the Care of Newborns with Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome in a Rural Hospital, the NOWS-NM Program
Evaluates the NOWS-NM program, a web-based training program for care of newborns with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) in rural New Mexico hospitals. Describes results of interviews with 16 providers on their experiences with NOWS and attitudes toward local NOWS treatment. Discusses stigma reduction and knowledge of non-pharmacologic NOWS treatment.
Author(s): Heather Pratt-Chavez, Heidi Rishel Brakey, Sarah G. Sanders, et al.
Citation: BMC Pediatrics, 24, 258
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
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