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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Population health

Digital Access: A Super Determinant of Health
Discusses how the digital divide intersects with health equity and behavioral health and how telehealth can bridge health disparities. Describes local, state, and federal examples of efforts to reduce the digital divide. Includes a list of funding opportunities and resources promoting broadband access.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Train Derailments in Rural and Urban Pennsylvania, 2018 to 2022
Fact sheet analyzing train derailments in Pennsylvania and the U.S. from 2018 to November 30, 2022, using data from the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Safety Analysis. Features state-level and Pennsylvania county-level maps showing locations and numbers of derailments, and statistics on types, costs, and speeds of derailments, with breakdowns by rural and urban locations.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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American Indian and Alaska Native Worker Safety and Health Strategic Plan
Highlights a strategic plan for researching occupational safety and health of American Indian and Alaska Native workers. Provides a step-by-step guide for conducting and disseminating research on the health and safety risks of AI/AN workers, as well as crafting safety policy for tribal communities.
Author(s): Elizabeth Dalsey, Robert Foley, Sarah Hatcher, et al.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
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The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use
Explores the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on mental health and substance use. Tracks rates of anxiety and depression, as well as substance use, from before and after the pandemic. Breaks down data by age, race, and rurality, among other measures.
Author(s): Nirmita Panchal, Heather Saunders, Robin Rudowitz, Cynthia Cox
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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2022 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report: Chartbook on Patient Safety
Summarizes trends in healthcare quality and disparities for metro (urban) to noncore (rural) populations. Includes quality measures for patient safety, person-centered care, care coordination, effective treatment, healthy living, and affordability.
Author(s): Barbara Barton, Darryl Gray, Cecilia Hahn, et al.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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American Indian and Alaska Native Communities Face a 'Disproportionate Burden of Oral Disease' - Reversing Inequities Involves Challenges and Opportunities
White paper explores the state of American Indian and Alaska Native oral health. Discusses some of the oral health disparities faced by AI/AN communities, such as historical and cultural factors, workforce shortages, and oral health literacy, among other factors. Presents solutions and strategic recommendations to address AI/AN oral health disparities.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Mary Altenberg, Terrence Batliner, Tommie Chavis II, et al.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, National Indian Health Board
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Leveraging Telemedicine To Eliminate Outcome Disparities For Rural-Born Newborns
Presentation slides from a webinar discussing the barriers affecting care for neonatal encephalopathy in rural areas. Describes telemedicine strategies evaluating neonatal encephalopathy and methods for improving parent understanding. Identifies other applications of telemedicine appropriate for the care of newborns and children.
Additional links: Transcript
Author(s): Alexa Craig
Date: 03/2023
Type: Presentation Slides
Sponsoring organization: National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers
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Teleneurology via Tablet Technology: An Effective Low-Cost Method to Increase Healthcare Accessibility
Presents a study on the use of low-cost tablets in place of more expensive "telemedicine robots" as a means of providing teleneurology services to small rural hospitals. Evaluates a hub-and-spoke teleneurology program based at Vanderbilt University Medical Center serving smaller, community-based hospitals in Kentucky and Tennessee. Draws data from physician and patient surveys.
Author(s): Kelly Harper, Claire Hanson, Bryan Eoff, et al.
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 23(1), 7591
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
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2023 Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Investments Preview
Webinar recording highlights the upcoming investments by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) for 2023. Discusses FORHP's funding priorities and goals for the 2023 fiscal year, such as rural hospitals and clinics, the substance use epidemic, and rural health disparities, among others.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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Assessing Geographic Variability in Key Indicators of Air Quality: A Rural vs. Urban Comparison of Pollution and Socio-Economic Factors
Results of a study to examine rates of air pollution between rural and urban census tracts, using data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Air Quality System web portal for the years 2000-2020. Features statistics including mean concentrations of fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) and ozone in rural and urban census tracts, and maps showing concentrations of PM2.5 for census tracts by EPA region.
Author(s): Daniel Kilpatrick, Jeremy Cothran, Stella Self, et al.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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