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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Maternal health and prenatal care

Rural Health Care: Supporting Lives and Improving Communities
Presents the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance May 16, 2024, hearing on rural healthcare. Discusses the financial vulnerability of rural hospitals, the rural healthcare workforce and graduate medical education (GME), access to maternal healthcare, health information technology and telehealth, and more. Features testimony from the Chartis Center for Rural Health; Grande Ronde Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital in Oregon; the Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural Graduate Medical Education; and the Rural Policy Research Institute.
Additional links: Jeremy P. Davis, Grande Ronde Hospital - Testimony, Keith J. Mueller, Rural Policy Research Institute - Testimony, Lori Rodefeld, Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural Graduate Medical Education - Testimony, Michael Topchik, Chartis Center for Rural Health - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Finance
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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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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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Rural Maternal Health Series: Obstetric Readiness in Rural Facilities Without Birth Units
Webinar recording, fourth in a series, discusses strategies for providing birthing and postpartum care in rural facilities that no longer have obstetric unites. Features presentations from representatives of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the CDC's Maternal Mortality Prevention Team in the Division of Reproductive Health, the IHS Office of Clinical and Preventive Services (OCPS), and the Center for Research on Women and Gender at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Additional links: Audio Recording, Webinar Slides
Date: 04/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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2024 North Carolina Rural Health Snapshot
Presents data on rural North Carolina demographics, health information, and healthcare infrastructure. Offers statistics on issues including food access, income, healthcare coverage, maternal health, behavioral health, housing, internet access, and more.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation, North Carolina Rural Health Association
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Maternal Age and Inadequate Prenatal Care in West Virginia: A Project WATCH Study
Results of a study to determine the potential association between maternal age and inadequate prenatal care, based on data collected in rural Appalachian West Virginia between May 2018 and March 2022, through a state-mandated surveillance tool. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by maternal age group, education, substance use, payment type, and geographic region.
Author(s): Madelin Gardner, Amna Umer, Brian Hendricks, et al.
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 6(1/2), 21–37
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
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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, 28(2), 36-46
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
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