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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Service delivery models

Mental Health Systems Solutions Explorer
Interactive tool offering evidence-based solutions to increase mental healthcare utilization, increase access to care, and establish a continuum of care. Contains examples of each solution in practice. Solutions can be filtered to view those specifically of interest to rural communities.
Date: 01/2021
Type: Tool
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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How to Transform the U.S. Mental Health System: Evidence-based Recommendations
Discusses evidence-based strategies to promote mental healthcare utilization, improve access to care, and establish a continuum of care. Offers 15 recommendations to improve mental healthcare, including policies regarding reimbursement, workforce growth, and digital and telehealth services, among other topics. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Full Report, Research Brief: Transforming Mental Health Care in the United States
Author(s): Ryan K. McBain, Nicole K. Eberhart, Joshua Breslau, et al.
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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Grantee Directory: Rural Health Care Coordination Program, 2020
Provides contact information and brief overviews of the 10 rural healthcare coordination initiatives funded through the Rural Health Care Coordination Program in the 2020-2023 funding cycle. Each profile includes information on the focus areas to be addressed.
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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Diagnosing and Managing Mild TBI in Rural Kids
Discusses the challenges of diagnosing and treating pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in rural areas. Covers recommendations and rules for computerized tomography (CT) scans and symptom assessment, recovery and support for patients, educational resources for patients and families, and telemedicine as an option that increases access to follow-up care for mTBI.
Author(s): Kelly Sarmiento
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Tele‐ICUs for COVID‐19: A Look at National Prevalence and Characteristics of Hospitals Providing Teleintensive Care
Discusses a study on the prevalence of intensive care unit telemedicine (tele-ICUs) in hospitals across the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically in rural and Critical Access Hospitals. Compares hospitals by region, ICU beds, and emergency visits, among other measures.
Author(s): Dunc Williams Jr., John Lawrence, Young-Rock Hong, Aaron Winn
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(1), 133-141
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
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Lessons Learned: Pediatric Tele-Mental Health in a Rural Medical Center in the Age of SARS-CoV-2
Explores a study on the use of telemedicine to expand mental healthcare access to rural children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses implementation concerns such as a need to protect patient privacy and expand internet-based infrastructure.
Author(s): Komal Satti, Olutosin Ojugbele
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(1), 260-262
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
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COVID-19 and Rural Harm Reduction Challenges in the U.S. Southern Mountains
Explores the relationship between drug use and COVID-19 infections in the Southern Mountains region of Appalachia. Highlights the changes caused by COVID-19 and the challenges harm reduction programs face in providing services, such as syringe exchanges, naloxone access, and COVID-19-related services.
Author(s): Bayla Ostrach, Lesly-Marie Buer, Sam Armbruster, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(1), 252-255
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
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Telemedicine Services During COVID‐19: Considerations for Medically Underserved Populations
Discusses the use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic and details some of the barriers to its use in underserved communities. Highlights the lack of broadband internet in rural areas and on tribal lands, as well the lack of technological capability among older people.
Author(s): Tasha Woodall, Melinda Ramage, John T. LaBruyere, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(1), 231-234
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
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Integrating Telemedicine for Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in Rural Primary Care: Beyond the COVID Pandemic
Discusses adapting expanded telehealth services used during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). Highlights the successes of telehealth expansion during COVID-19 and suggests ways it could be used to increase access to medication treatment for OUD.
Author(s): Yih-Ing Hser, Larissa J. Mooney
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(1), 246-248
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
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The Importance of Video Visits in the Time of COVID-19
Highlights the importance of video-to-home telemedicine (VTH) for maintaining mental healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses the usefulness of VTH in expanding access to mental healthcare broadly, as well as some of the infrastructure-based limitations that currently exist.
Author(s): Jan A. Lindsay, Julianna B. Hogan, Anthony H. Ecker, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(1), 242-245
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
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