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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Population health

Mapping a New Terrain: 5 Principles for Equitable Rural Outdoor Recreational Economies
Offers suggestions for rural communities and Native nations looking at ways to improve economic prosperity, and population health and well-being through the development of natural assets and rural outdoor recreation. Topics cover ownership and control of recreation assets, building a resilient infrastructure, coordinating assets and stakeholder engagement, respect for the landscape, people and culture during the development process, and designing for equitable access and participation for all residents. Includes recommendations for community organizations, local government, and philanthropic organizations.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Aspen Institute, Community Strategies Group
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Landscape of the Health Informatics Workforce: Rapid Response Brief
Focuses on the clinical informatics and public health, population health, and social service informatics subdomains of the health informatics workforce. Mentions resource hubs that serve rural communities by providing guidelines, toolkits, screening tools, and other resources. Examines social determinants of health and gives examples of clinical informatics work that can improve access to care for rural and underserved populations. Features statistics on physicians certified in clinical informatics from 2013-2022.
Author(s): Cynthia LeRouge, Shahida Shahrir, Bianca K Frogner
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC) in Review: 2022-2023
Provides information about the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC) activities in 2022-2023 as well as the 44 member hospitals. Includes information about hospital locations, service highlights, leadership and education programs, chronic disease initiatives, and more.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative
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Disparities in Health and Health Care: 5 Key Questions and Answers
Defines health and healthcare disparities and discusses the social and economic inequities that drive them. Provides details on the current status of health disparities in the U.S., the importance of addressing them, and what the federal government is doing to alleviate health disparities. Includes discussion of rural health disparities.
Author(s): Nambi Ndugga, Samantha Artiga
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Harm Reduction and Recovery Services Support (HRRSS) to Mitigate the Opioid Overdose Epidemic in a Rural Community
Examines factors impacting harm reduction and recovery services related to opioid use in a rural South Carolina county. Discusses feedback from 338 community respondents regarding issues such as syringe services programs, safe consumption sites, placement of naloxone in public places, and more, with data reported as a harm reduction and recovery support score (HRRSS) connected to various demographic variables and personal beliefs.
Author(s): Moonseong Heo, Taylor Beachler, Laksika B. Sivaraj, et al.
Citation: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 18, 23
Date: 04/2023
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Surveillance of the Initiation of, Participation in, and Completion of Cardiac Rehabilitation in Minnesota, 2017–2018
Analyzes cardiac rehabilitation (CR) disparities in Minnesota related to eligibility, initiation, participation, and completion of CR. Examines 12,937 Minnesota All Payer Claims Database members who qualified for CR, with data broken down by county, demographics, type of health insurance, comorbidities, social vulnerability, qualifying condition, rural-urban commuting area code, and more.
Author(s): James M. Peacock, Emily Styles, Sara Johnson, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 20
Date: 04/2023
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Ventilation Improvements Among K–12 Public School Districts — United States, August–December 2022
Reports on K-12 public school ventilation improvements to prevent COVID-19 transmission, including replacing or upgrading ventilation systems, installing filtration systems, installing ultraviolet germicidal irradiation devices, and improving airflow. Includes data for city, suburb, town, and rural locations.
Author(s): Miguella Mark-Carew, Gloria Kang, Sanjana Pampati, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 72(14), 372-376
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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How Community Health Workers Are Impacting Rural Communities
Describes ways in which communities can use funding to build community health worker programs in order to reduce health disparities. Highlights the University of Kansas Medical Center's Local Health Equity Action Teams initiative in 10 counties, 6 of which are rural.
Author(s): Shelby Rowell
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Inequitable Access to General and Behavioral Healthcare in the US During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Role for Telehealth?
Examines general and behavioral healthcare access and disparities during the first year of the pandemic, using data from the 2019–2020 U.S. National Alcohol Survey and its COVID follow-up survey conducted January 30 to March 28, 2021. Explores the role of telehealth in providing an important bridge to healthcare for certain medically underserved groups during the pandemic. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Author(s): Nina Mulia, Yu Ye, Thomas K. Greenfield, et al.
Citation: Preventive Medicine, 169
Date: 04/2023
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The Interaction of Rurality and Rare Cancers for Travel Time to Cancer Care
Explores the connection between rurality and travel time to receive treatment for rare cancers. Breaks down data by patient characteristics, such as age and rurality, among other measures. Compares rare cancers with common cancers and by treatment type.
Author(s): Tracy Onega, Jennifer Alford-Teaster, Chris Leggett, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(2), 426-433
Date: 03/2023
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