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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Public health

Despair in the American Heartland? A Focus on Rural Health
Describes 4 research articles and accompanying editorials, examining problems associated with the current state of health among rural populations.
Author(s): Paul Campbell Erwin
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 107(10), 1533-1534
Date: 10/2017
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Promising Practice: Rural Health Summits Bringing People Together Across Vermont to Exchange Ideas
Describes how the Vermont State Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (VT SORH/PC) and leaders from rural hospitals and local public health districts in Vermont co-convened several Rural Health Summits held around the state to discuss ways to share resources, information, and identify opportunities for collaboration.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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Scaling up HCV Prevention and Treatment Interventions in Rural USA – Model Projections for Tackling an Increasing Epidemic
Highlights a study on the rise in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in rural people who inject drugs (PWID) and the necessary interventions to reduce HCV outbreaks in rural communities. Focuses on a rural county in Indiana and evaluates the medication-assisted treatment (MAT) efficacy, syringe-services program (SSP) efficacy, and the PWID population size of the intervention, among other factors.
Author(s): Hannah Fraser, Jon Zibbell, Thomas Hoerger, et al.
Citation: Addiction, 113(1), 173-182
Date: 09/2017
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Rural and Urban Differences in Passenger-Vehicle–Occupant Deaths and Seat Belt Use Among Adults — United States, 2014
Examines motor-vehicle crash deaths and seat belt use by level of rurality. Includes regional rural-urban data on death rates and type of state seat belt enforcement law (primary or secondary). Also provides data on unrestrained passenger-vehicle occupants in fatal crashes by level of rurality. For self-reported seat belt use, includes demographic data for metropolitan and nonmetro counties.
Author(s): Laurie F. Beck, Jonathan Downs, Mark R. Stevens, Erin K. Sauber-Schatz
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 66(17), 1-13
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Overdose Deaths, Hospital Visits and Unfilled Jobs: The Opioid Crisis in Missouri and Kansas
Reports on the opioid crisis in Missouri and Kansas. Shows maps of county-by-county data for opioid dependence risk, unemployment rate, drug-related mortality rate, opioid-related hospital utilization rate, and the morphine milligram equivalents (MME) per capita rate in both states.
Author(s): Mat Reidhead, Leslie Porth, Karen Braman
Date: 09/2017
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National, Regional, State, and Selected Local Area Vaccination Coverage Among Adolescents Aged 13-17 Years — United States, 2016
Reports on adolescent vaccination coverage in the United States, based on data from the 2016 National Immunization Survey–Teen (NIS-Teen). Includes data for nonmetropolitan areas. Vaccination coverage estimates are provided for tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap); meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY); human papillomavirus (HPV); hepatitis B; measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR); and varicella.
Author(s): Tanja Y. Walker, Laurie D. Elam-Evans, James A. Singleton, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 66(33), 874-882
Date: 08/2017
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Health Care Access and Utilization Among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Persons in the United States, 2014
Provides detailed statistics on healthcare access and utilization for the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) population as a whole, as well as multiple- and single-race NHPI populations, with comparisons to other groups and to the U.S. population. Topics addressed include health insurance coverage, usual place of care, emergency department visits, delayed care due to cost, dentist visits, influenza and pneumococcal vaccination, and HIV screening.
Author(s): Carla E. Zelaya, Adena M. Galinsky, Catherine Simile, Patricia M. Barnes
Citation: Vital and Health Statistics, 3(41)
Date: 08/2017
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Using Geospatial Mapping to Determine the Impact of All-Terrain Vehicle Crashes on Both Rural and Urban Communities
Examines all-terrain vehicle (ATV) crash patterns within a Midwest state. Compares and contrasts characteristics of ATV crashes by rurality. Includes person and crash related statistics by sex, age, seating, helmet use, fatality, crash mechanism, rurality, and more.
Author(s): Evelyn S. Qin, Charles A. Jennissen, Caroline A. Wadman, Gerene M. Denning
Citation: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 18(5), 913-922
Date: 07/2017
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Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic: Balancing Societal and Individual Benefits and Risks of Prescription Opioid Use
Report looks at the current opioid epidemic in the U.S. Explores options for balancing chronic pain management while reducing the occurrence of addiction and misuse. Presents recommendations for treating overdoses and reducing demand for prescription, as well as illicit, opioids.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Committee on Pain Management and Regulatory Strategies to Address Prescription Opioid Abuse
Date: 07/2017
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Mass Media Campaign to Reduce Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in a Rural Area of the United States
Results of a study in which messages about health risks associated with sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) were disseminated in 2015-2016 through television, digital channels, and local organizations, in 17 rural counties in Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky. Features statistics including comparisons of SSB sales in this area before and after the campaign.
Author(s): Thomas A. Farley, Hayli S. Halper, Anne M. Carlin, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 107(6), 989-995
Date: 06/2017
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