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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Prescription drug misuse

Analysis of Different Populations Accessing Online Overdose Response Training and Harm Reduction Supplies (ADORES)
Compares demographic groups accessing an online mail order naloxone and harm reduction supply via the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy (UNIV) website versus the Rhode Island Department of Health (DOH) website. Analyzes website data from June 2020 through October 2023 to compare 1,662 UNIV and 4,121 DOH mail order request forms according to requestor's race/ethnicity, gender, age, income, rural versus urban location, and harm reduction supply type.
Author(s): Michaela Pacheco, Abiodun Ologunowa, Anita Jacobson
Citation: Harm Reduction Journal, 21, 202
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
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A Cross-Sectional Study of Stigma Towards Opioid Users among Rural Law Enforcement and Community Members in Tennessee
Examines stigma toward people who use opioids among 48 law enforcement officers (LEOs) and 393 community members in rural Tennessee. Compares perceptions of opioid use and opioid user demographics among LEOs and community members, including data on attitudes related to dangerousness, blame, social distance, and fatalism. Discusses the effects of stigma on access to harm reduction and treatment for opioid use disorder.
Author(s): Kahler W. Stone, Gabrielle M. Chesak, Angela S. Bowman, Michael Ayalon, Cynthia Chafin
Citation: Harm Reduction Journal, 21, 195
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
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Increasing Medication Assisted Treatment in Rural Primary Care Practice: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis from IT MATTTRs Colorado
Examines how the characteristics of rural primary care practices in Colorado affect their ability to provide medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD), utilizing data from the Implementing Technology and Medication Assisted Treatment Team Training in Rural Colorado (IT MATTTRs) intervention. Analyzes practice characteristics including practice size, behavioral health availability, MAT prescriber staffing, clinicians with MAT experience, private or non-private practice, and leadership buy-in.
Author(s): Jodi Summers Holtrop, Rebecca Mullen, Kristen Curcija, et al.
Citation: Frontiers in Medicine, 11, 1450672
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
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Changing Dynamics in the Opioid Crisis Since the COVID-19 Pandemic
Examines trends in the opioid crisis during the 2019-2022 COVID-19 pandemic period. Includes data on drug types and overdose deaths by age, race/ethnicity, state, and urbanization of large metro, small/medium metro, or non-metro location.
Author(s): Colin Planalp, Andrea Stewart
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: State Health Access Data Assistance Center
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Examining Use of Telehealth in Jails: Linking Women to Community OUD Services
Evaluates the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network's (JCOIN) use of telehealth for opioid use disorder (OUD) assessment and linkage to medications to treat opioid use disorder (MOUD) services at community re-entry for 600 women incarcerated in Kentucky jails. Examines participants' access to treatment, participants' and providers' perceptions of telehealth, and other aspects of program implementation. Discusses barriers to care in a predominantly rural population.
Author(s): Michele Staton, Mary Levi, Erin Winston, et al.
Citation: BMC Women's Health, 24, 549
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
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2023 Report to Congress on the State Opioid Response Grants (SOR)
Report details the outcomes of state opioid response (SOR) grants to Congress. Highlights demographic breakdown of people served by SOR programs and discusses key accomplishments by state/territory. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Summary, Santa Fe and Las Vegas, New Mexico, September 4-6, 2024
Summarizes the 95th meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Santa Fe and Las Vegas, New Mexico. Presents an overview of national, state, and community perspectives on the rural opioid and substance use crisis.
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Medication-Based Treatment Among Rural, Primary Care Patients Diagnosed With Opioid Use Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder
Explores prescribing rates of medications for opioid and alcohol use disorders (MOUD and MAUD) in primary care settings in rural and urban areas. Discusses the use of medications for treating OUD and AUD and looks for differences in utilization by rural and urban providers. Breaks down data by patient age, gender, and medication type, among other measures.
Author(s): Emily Kan, Laura-Mae Baldwin, Larissa J Mooney, et al.
Citation: Journal of Substance Use & Addiction Treatment, 164, 20933
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
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Lessons for Future Pandemics: Temporal Evolution and Rural-Urban Variations in the Impacts of the COVID-19 on Opioid Use Treatment
Presents a study highlighting the lessons learned from opioid use treatment programs operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Explores the impact of the pandemic on treatment services. Discusses the use of telehealth for both counseling and medication prescribing, as well as the challenges faced by patients trying to obtain treatment during the pandemic.
Author(s): Zhongyang He, Jonathan M. Heess, Travis Young, Zhen Lei
Citation: PLoS ONE, 19(9), e0310386
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
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Evaluating Fentanyl Test Strips as a Harm Reduction Strategy in Rural and Urban Counties: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial
Protocol for a study examining a harm reduction intervention which will provide education and distribute fentanyl test strips to people with recent use of illicit or street-purchased drugs in rural and urban Ohio communities. Describes study design, including selection and comparison of rural versus urban subgroups.
Author(s): Ashley Short Mejia, Gary A. Smith, Soledad A. Fernandez, et al.
Citation: Trials, 25, 587
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
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