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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Substance use and misuse

America's Health Rankings Annual Report 2022
Provides a national and state-by-state overview of population health by analyzing 51 measures to describe health outcomes in the U.S. and 32 additional measures used to track current and emerging health issues at state and national levels. Examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Presents findings from the October 2022 COVID-Era Disparities Survey. Explores racial and ethnic disparities throughout, including data on American Indian/Alaska Native populations.
Additional links: Executive Brief
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: United Health Foundation
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Impact of Mandatory COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place Order on Controlled Substance Use Among Rural Versus Urban Communities in the United States
Features a study on the effect the shelter-in-place orders during the COVID-19 pandemic had on uses of controlled substances, such as methamphetamine, opioids, and cocaine, among others. Draws data from calls made to poison control centers from October of 2019 to July of 2020 and compares rates of calls by rural versus urban locations.
Author(s): Daniel Maeng, Yue Li, Michele Lawrence, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(1), 21-29
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
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Changes in Transmucosal Buprenorphine Utilization for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kentucky
Explores changes in prescription rates of transmuscosal buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kentucky. Compares prescribing rates in rural versus urban areas and examines rates on a week by week basis.
Author(s): Feitong Lei, Michelle R. Lofwall, Patricia R. Freeman, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(1), 186-196
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
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2018-2021 Rural Opioid Technical Assistance (ROTA) Grant Overview
Highlights Rural Opioid Technical Assistance grantee projects between 2018 and 2021. Projects address topics such as mental health, opioid use prevention, stigma, youth, social determinants of health, culturally competent programming, trauma informed care training, partnership building, and more.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Report of the (Pennsylvania) Opioid Abuse Child Impact Task Force: Act 2 of 2022
Identifies strategies to mitigate the suffering of Pennsylvania infants and children affected by the opioid epidemic and alcohol abuse. Offers 13 actionable recommendations for consideration by the General Assembly and governor. Mentions rural throughout, and includes county-level maps showing higher rates of opioid use disorder and its consequences in Pennsylvania rural counties.
Author(s): Glenn J. Pasewicz, Allison N. Kobzowicz, Daniel Nguyen, et al.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Joint State Government Commission, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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An Analysis of Pennsylvania's Children
Report examining trends from 2010-2019 pertaining to Pennsylvania children ages 0-17, comparing and contrasting the profiles of rural and urban children. Provides statistics on dimensions including economic circumstances, education, foster care, insurance, access to healthcare, health, mortality, and use of alcohol and illicit drugs.
Author(s): Rhoda C. Joseph
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Rural-Urban Disparities in U.S. Cigarette Smoking Quit Ratios
Compares the rates of smoking cessation in rural and urban areas. Details the rate smokers quit smoking from 2010-2020 according to the National Survey on Drug Use.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
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Meeting Substance Use and Social Service Needs in Communities of Color
Explores experiences and practices of substance use treatment providers and their human services partners when serving people of color. Discusses practices that promote active and positive participation in their programs as well as constraints. Includes information from programs that serve American Indian and Alaska Native people.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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QuickStats: Drug Overdose Death Rates Among Persons Aged ≥15 Years, by Age Group and Urban-Rural Status — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2020
Bar chart showing rural and urban overdose death rates by age group for those aged 15-24, 25-44, 45-64, and 65 and older.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 71(47), 1503
Date: 11/2022
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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U.S. National and State Estimates of Children Living with Parents Using Substances, 2015– 2019
Estimates of the number and percentage of children whose parents engage in problematic substance use. Presents data by substance type; by child demographic characteristics, including age, race, and urban/rural residence; and by state.
Author(s): Robin Ghertner
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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