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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Substance use and misuse

Association of Receipt of Opioid Use Disorder-Related Telehealth Services and Medications for Opioid Use Disorder with Fatal Drug Overdoses among Medicare Beneficiaries Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Reports on a study to determine the benefits of expanding opioid use disorder (OUD) related telehealth services and remote prescribing of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the number of fatalities due to drug overdose. Examines clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with OUD by analyzing data on sex, age, race/ethnicity, county rural and urban status, death rates, disability, mental health diagnosis, chronic conditions, and other substance use disorders (SUDs).
Author(s): Christopher M. Jones, Carla Shoff, Carlos Blanco, et al.
Citation: JAMA Psychiatry, 80(5), 508–514
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
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2022 Alaska Community Needs Assessment
Results of a February 2023 survey to gather household-level data on individualized, local needs in the areas of education, employment, workforce development, food security, and access to healthcare resources. Features demographics and statistics on disabilities, poverty, education level, rural housing, healthcare access, deaths of despair, substance use, and supply and demand of dental, mental health, and primary care providers.
Author(s): Daniel O'Brien
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc.
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Challenges and Solutions for Disaster Behavioral Health in Rural and Remote Communities
Describes the scope and diversity of rural and remote populations across the nation, highlighting sources of strength and struggle, including the effects of stigma, for rural Americans and rural healthcare providers. Explores potential approaches to disaster behavioral health in rural and remote areas, including governmental and policy approaches, community-based approaches, and telemedicine.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center
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Evaluation of the Maternal Opioid Misuse (MOM) Model Second Annual Report (Implementation Year 1)
Provides an overview of the Maternal Opioid Misuse Model, which provides evidence-based integrated care and care coordination for pregnant and postpartum Medicaid beneficiaries with opioid use disorder (OUD). Describes activities MOM Model awardees undertook during the MOM Model's first implementation year, July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022. Discusses barriers pregnant and postpartum people with OUD face in accessing high-quality, continuous care, specifically in rural areas.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Insight Policy Research
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Rural and Urban Differences in Factors Associated with Inpatient Hospital Stays for Substance Use Disorder
Provides information on inpatient hospital stays for patients with substance use disorder (SUD) by rural and urban location. Utilizes 2018 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) data to examine 81,857 inpatient hospital stays, with rural versus urban data further broken down by age, sex, race/ethnicity, type of SUD diagnosis, secondary conditions and comorbidities, admission type and source, Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) status, payer type, hospital characteristics, and more.
Author(s): Craig Holden, Curt Mueller, Shena Popat, Alana Knudson
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Equity Research Center
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Factors Associated with Lengths-of-Stay for Inpatients with Substance Use Disorders
Policy brief identifying factors associated with inpatient length-of-stay (LOS) for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) and exploring whether there are systematic differences in LOS for rural and urban residents. Includes statistics on characteristics of stays for a primary SUD diagnosis in Kentucky, North Carolina, Vermont, and Washington in 2018, with breakdowns by Mental Health Professional Shortage Area and rural or urban location, and selected factors on LOS for an SUD diagnosis, with breakdowns by mental diagnoses, chronic conditions, and socio-demographic measures.
Author(s): Curt Mueller, Craig Holden, Shena Popat, Alana Knudson
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Equity Research Center
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Stigma and Opioid Use Disorder in Northern New England
Report presents a study on the stigma around opioid use disorder (OUD) in Northern New England. Details the results of a survey of clinicians and counselors on the perceived stigma around OUD and OUD treatment in the rural counties of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Northern New York.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
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Nevada 2022 Rural Behavioral Health Profile: Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Pershing, and White Pine Counties
Summarizes the behavioral health for 6 counties defined as rural in Nevada as of 2022. Includes general population statistics for the area as well as a discussion of mental health including suicide; substance use and misuse; and prenatal substance use and neonatal abstinence syndrome, among other topics.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Nevada Department of Health and Human Services
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Augmenting Project ECHO for Opioid Use Disorder with Data-Informed Quality Improvement
Discusses the feasibility of training clinics that are participating in a Project ECHO virtual collaborative to implement quality initiative (QI) projects that mitigate opioid overdose and mortality. Provides results of 5 New Hampshire clinics that joined the training and includes considerations of QI projects and opioid mitigation taking place in rural areas.
Author(s): Owen B. Murray, Marcy Doyle, Bethany M. McLeman, et al.
Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 18, 24
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
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Location, Age, and Race Matter: A Path Model of Emotional Distress in the U.S. During COVID-19
Examines factors that contributed to emotional distress during COVID-19 such as rurality, race, demographics, substance use, and more. Provides 2020 survey results from 947 U.S. adults and discusses mental health in vulnerable populations.
Author(s): Viktor Clark, Hannah Ming, Sunny Jung Kim
Citation: BMC Public Health, 23, 762
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
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