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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Population health

The Effect of Pesticide Spray Season and Residential Proximity to Agriculture on Glyphosate Exposure among Pregnant People in Southern Idaho, 2021
Evaluated regular urine samples of 40 pregnant people in Idaho to determine the impact of pesticide exposure on pregnant people both near and far from agricultural fields. Analysis included before, during, and after "spray season" or the time of the year when pesticide is most likely to be applied.
Author(s): Cynthia L. Curl, Carly Hyland, Meredith Spivak, et al.
Citation: Environmental Health Perspectives, 131(12)
Date: 12/2023
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A Food Access Model in Michigan's Graying America
Presents a model for increasing food access for the aging populations in a rural county in Michigan. Discusses the barriers to food access in the county, highlights specific concerns for each population, and details approaches to overcome those barriers.
Author(s): Wajeeha Kamal, Lily Guiney, Miles Oates
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: American Communities Project
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Addressing the Direct Care Workforce Shortage: A Bipartisan Call to Action
Report discusses direct care worker shortages throughout the country. Details shortages of home health aids, certified nursing assistants, and residential care aids, among other direct care workers, and makes recommendations for decreasing shortages. Highlights some of the added barriers faced by rural communities.
Author(s): Lisa Harootunian, Kamryn Perry, Allison Buffett, et al.
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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Community Health Partners in Unexpected Places
Examines how health systems partner with community services such as libraries, barber shops, dollar stores, and others to improve access and reduce health disparities in minority and rural populations. Discusses strategies to increase the use of community health partners, such as co-designing with input from the community, procuring funding, building awareness of available programs, and utilizing novel means to conduct day-to-day operations.
Author(s): Michael K. Hole, Sunjay Letchuman, Allister Chang, Leonard L. Berry
Citation: Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 98(12), 1883-1841
Date: 12/2023
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America's Health Rankings Annual Report 2023
Provides a national and state-by-state overview of population health by analyzing 49 measures to describe and rank health outcomes in the U.S. and 38 additional measures used to track current and emerging health issues at state and national levels. Analyzes and presents data on disparities by geography and demographic characteristics throughout, including data on American Indian/Alaska Native populations and metropolitan status.
Additional links: Executive Brief
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: United Health Foundation
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The Need for Better Definitions and Data on "Rural" in Health Services Research
Blog post discussing the various definitions of rural used by the federal government. Describes how the different definitions of rural can complicate understanding health disparities between and within rural areas. Offers policy recommendations for standardizing rural definitions, data collection, and research methodologies to improve population health.
Author(s): Kayla Alvis
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: AcademyHealth
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Support for Healthy Eating and Active Living in Rural Communities: Insights from a National Survey of Local Governments
Analyzes local government policies that support wellness, healthy eating, and physical activity in metro versus nonmetro areas. Utilizes Community Based Survey of Supports for Healthy Eating and Active Living (CBS HEAL) data to compare government structures, master plans, built environment policies, transit options, supportive food access policies, and more.
Author(s): Adee Athiyaman
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs
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Hospitals' Electronic Access to Information Needed to Treat COVID-19
Explores acute care hospitals' ability to access electronic access to information necessary to treat COVID-19 patients in 2021. Examines differences in information availability by hospital characteristics, including rurality and Critical Access Hospital (CAH) status, and engagement in interoperable exchange.
Author(s): Chelsea Richwine, Jordan Everson, Vaishali Patel
Citation: JAMIA Open, 6(4)
Date: 12/2023
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Participation in a Medicare Advanced Primary Care Model and the Delivery of High-Value Services
Examines if participation in the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus Initiative (CPC+) impacted the high-value services delivered by primary care providers. Utilizes multiple national data sets to estimate the association of CPC+ and services such as annual wellness visits (AWVs), advance care planning (ACP), flu shots, tobacco prevention counseling, and depression screening. Provides data on intervention groups and comparison groups by patient demographics as well as provider demographics, specialty, and location, including urban, large rural, small rural, and isolated rural.
Author(s): Fang He, Angela Gasdaska, Lindsay White, Yan Tang, Chris Beadles
Citation: Health Services Research, 58(6), 1266-1291
Date: 12/2023
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Veterans With Blood Cancers: Clinical Trial Navigation and the Challenge of Rurality
Presents a study on the geographic barriers to accessing cancer trials faced by rural veterans. Explored the availability of cancer trials based on rurality and highlights clinical trial deserts. Breaks down demographic data by race, sex, cancer type, and rurality, among other measures.
Author(s): Daphne R. Friedman, Thomas D. Rodgers, Courtney Kovalick, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(1), 114-120
Date: 12/2023
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