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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Racial and ethnic groups

Social Medicine in Practice: Realizing the American Indian and Alaska Native Right to Health
Explores the health disparities facing American Indian and Alaska Native populations and the social determinants of health specific to Native nations. Features a case study of the Maniilaq Social Medicine Program (SMP) in Alaska, which aims to address Native health disparities.
Author(s): Lucas Trout, Corina Kramer, Lois Fischer
Citation: Health and Human Rights Journal, 20(2), 19–30
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
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Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans
Updates the 2003 report, A Quiet Crisis: Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian Country, evaluating federal spending on Native American programs, including those related to healthcare, housing, education, infrastructure, criminal justice, and economic development. Provides policy recommendations addressing funding, tribal sovereignty, and data collection.
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
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Improving Care to Prevent Suicide Among People with Serious Mental Illness: Proceedings of a Workshop
Reports on workshop discussions held September 11-12, 2018 and a moderated Twitter chat hosted October 4, 2018 regarding mental illness and suicide risk. Addresses what is known about serious mental illness and suicide risk, what is being done about it, and recommendations for future action. Includes examples of suicide prevention interventions. Chapter 5 focuses on Native Americans and Alaska Natives.
Author(s): Board on Health Care Services
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Drug, Opioid-Involved, and Heroin-Involved Overdose Deaths Among American Indians and Alaska Natives — Washington, 1999–2015
Reports on trends and disparities in drug, opioid-involved, and heroin-involved overdose mortality rates for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) and non-Hispanic White people in Washington state. Includes data on total overdose deaths for AI/AN and White people by county of residence for metropolitan and nonmetro counties.
Author(s): Sujata Joshi, Thomas Weiser, Victoria Warren-Mears
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 67(50), 1384-1387
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Indian Health Service: Spending Levels and Characteristics of IHS and Three Other Federal Health Care Programs
Compares Indian Health Services (IHS) spending with other federal programs that provide healthcare services, such as the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Medicare, and Medicaid. Looks at the different services provided by each program and the way each program is funded.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Ke A'o Mau: Strengthening Cultural Competency in Interdisciplinary Education
Summarizes an interprofessional cultural competency course focused on Native Hawaiians. Offers recommendations for designing other courses focused on training interdisciplinary teams in cultural competency to address health disparities.
Author(s): Theresa M. Kreif, Shayne Kukunaokala Yoshimoto, Noreen Mokuau
Citation: Hawai'i Journal of Medicine and Public Health, 77(12), 333-336
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
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Emergency Department Utilization by Native American Children
Examines pediatric emergency department (ED) utilization in Native American (NA) populations in urban and rural areas. Analyzes 8,294 visits by 5,275 NA patients and 44,503 visits by 33,945 White patients across 6 EDs between 2011-2012 to observe health disparities in different areas and populations. Includes data breakdowns of ED patient demographics and characteristics according to rural, mid-size urban, and large urban location.
Author(s): Heather G. Zook, Anupam B. Kharbanda, Susan E. Puumala, et al.
Citation: Pediatric Emergency Care, 34(11), 802-809
Date: 11/2018
Type: Document
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Rural and Tribal Elder Justice Resource Guide
Provides an overview of elder abuse in rural and tribal communities as presented during a summit event hosted by the U.S. Department of Justice's Elder Justice Initiative on November 14-15, 2018. Includes statistical data on impacts of elder abuse in rural settings and links to toolkits, federal resources, and community outreach resources. Supplemental document contains speaker presentation slides.
Additional links: Rural and Tribal Elder Justice Summit Materials
Date: 11/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Justice
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Rural-Urban Differences in Cancer Incidence and Trends in the United States
Examines the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries' public use dataset to compare rural and urban population-based cancer incidence rates from 2009-2013 and trends from 1995-2013. Explores factors associated with rural cancer disparities, including demographic, geographic, and socioeconomic characteristics as well as exposure to carcinogens, like tobacco and HPV.
Author(s): Whitney E. Zahnd, Aimee S. James, Wiley D. Jenkins, et al.
Citation: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 27(11), 1265-1274
Date: 11/2018
Type: Document
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Utility and Generalizability of Multi-State, Population-Based Cancer Registry Data for Rural Cancer Surveillance Research in the United States
Analyzes various cancer registries to determine the usability of these sources in rural cancer surveillance research. Includes data from 2009-2013 on rural and urban cancer incidence rates by cancer site and race/ethnicity.
Author(s): Whitney Zahnd, Wiley Jenkins, Aimee James, et al.
Citation: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 27(11), 1252-1260
Date: 11/2018
Type: Document
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