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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Prescription drug misuse

Assessment of Substance Use Disorder Stigma and Strategies for Addressing Stigma in Rural Areas
January 31, 2024 webinar recording sharing results from the National Report on Rural Substance Use Disorder Stigma and Treatment Needs and discussing strategies for addressing stigma in rural areas. Includes transcript.
Additional links: Slide Presentation
Date: 01/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
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A Federally Qualified Health Center and Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Partnership in Rural Missouri
Case study describing a medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) program partnership between a Federally Qualified Health Center and a certified community behavioral health clinic in rural southwest Missouri. Covers the infrastructure of the MOUD program, staffing and services, financing, and more. Highlights challenges and successes, as well as recommendations for other health centers interested in a similar partnership.
Author(s): Ashley Jasko, Meryl Schulman
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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El Dorado Community Health Centers: Addressing the Opioid Epidemic in Rural California through Community Partnerships
Case study describing how El Dorado Community Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in California, works with a community coalition to address the opioid epidemic and implement a medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) program. Covers the infrastructure of the MOUD program, staffing and services, financing, and more. Highlights challenges and successes, as well as recommendations for other health centers.
Author(s): Ashley Jasko, Meryl Schulman
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Opioid Overdose Surveillance Preliminary District Report: Georgia, 2022
Describes district-level fatal and nonfatal opioid-involved overdoses that occurred in Georgia 2020-2022. Covers prescription opioids and illicit opioids, including heroin, fentanyl, and fentanyl analogs. Features statistics on demographics, overdose deaths, and emergency department visits, with breakdowns by district, drug type, and year. The Preliminary County Report contains county-by-county data.
Additional links: County Report
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Department of Public Health
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The University of Arizona Center for Rural Health Annual Report FY 2023-2024
Highlights the Center for Rural Health's accomplishments, and describes challenges and opportunities for improving the health of rural Arizonans in the upcoming year. Discusses the State Office of Rural Health, Arizona Health Improvement Plan (AzHIP), Arizona Rural Hospital Flexibility program (AzFLEX), Arizona Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (AzSHIP), and other programs.
Date: 2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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"I Don't Think That a Medication Is Going to Help Someone Long-Term Stay off Opioids": Treatment and Recovery Beliefs of Rural Vermont Family Members of People with Opioid Use Disorder
Examines beliefs related to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment and recovery from the perspective of the family members of people with OUD. Analyzes interview data from 20 rural Vermont family members and discusses themes such as medication for OUD (MOUD), OUD treatment and mental health services, patient readiness for OUD treatment, and stigma.
Author(s): Catherine E. Peasley-Miklus, Julia G. Shaw, Katie Rosingana, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(4), 681-688
Date: 2024
Type: Document
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Primary Care Professionals' Perspectives on Tailoring Buprenorphine Training for Rural Practice
Interviewed 23 rural Ohio primary care professionals to identify barriers to prescribing buprenorphine for opioid use disorder treatment. Discusses the need for training addressing rural-specific barriers, limited patient access to required social supports, workforce, and stigma. Offers recommendations based on findings.
Author(s): Cheyenne Fenstemaker, Elizabeth A. Abrams, Benjamin Obringer, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(4), 671-680
Date: 2024
Type: Document
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Defining and Evaluating In-Home Drug Disposal Systems for Opioid Analgesics: Proceedings of a Workshop
Offers summary of a June 2023 workshop to analyze in-home drug disposal systems with focus on unused opioid analgesics. Discusses the life cycle of prescribed opioids, characteristics of in-home disposal systems, implementation and equity concerns, legal concerns, environmental impacts, and real-world settings. Includes discussions of tribal and rural-specific challenges and benefits.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Health Sciences Policy
Date: 2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Effectiveness of Syringe Services Programs
Presents a literature review of the studies evaluating SSP interventions across the country. Report aims to evaluate the overall efficacy of SSPs at reducing the transmission of HIV/HCV. Four of the 100 studies were conducted in completely rural settings, and 5 were conducted in both rural and urban settings. Makes recommendations for VA policy makers.
Additional links: Appendices, Executive Summary
Author(s): Katherine M. Mackey, Erin H. Beech, Beth E. Williams, et al.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: VA Health Services Research & Development Service
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Changes in Perceptions of First Responders after Witnessing a Drug Overdose: Individual and Contextual Variations among People Who Use Opioids in West Virginia
Evaluates changes in attitude toward first responders among people who witnessed an overdose and stayed until first responders arrived. Utilizes interview data from 50 nonmedical users of prescription opioids from 3 rural Appalachian West Virginia counties. Identifies personal and contextual factors associated with changed perceptions of first responders.
Author(s): Kathleen L. Egan, Kelly Gurka, Alexandria Macmadu, Herb Linn
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 5(3), 22-37
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
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