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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Substance use and misuse

Annual Surveillance Report of Drug-Related Risks and Outcomes, 2019
Summarizes latest information on opioid prescribing, drug use, and overdose mortality from 2018-2019. Features statistics with breakdowns by large metropolitan, small metropolitan, non-metropolitan urbanized, non-metropolitan less urbanized, and completely rural. Highlights notable differences in the report from 2018 to 2019.
Additional links: Highlights
Date: 2020
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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The Opioid Crisis and the Hispanic/Latino Population: An Urgent Issue
Report highlights the opioid crisis in Hispanic/Latino populations. Details rates of illicit opioid use and prescription drug misuse, as well as overdose and death rates. Discusses measures taken in to provide treatment and prevention in Latino communities, including in rural and border areas.
Date: 2020
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Stem the Tide: Opioid Stewardship Measurement Implementation Guide
Identifies best practices for hospitals and health systems to use data to improve opioid stewardship. Addresses six elements that can support facilities through implementing a data-driven opioid stewardship program. Provides a list of quality improvement measures for hospitals and health systems to track progress. Highlights a consortium of providers serving rural communities across Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin focused on access to treatment and interventions that address social determinants of health.
Date: 2020
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Opportunities to Improve Opioid Use Disorder and Infectious Disease Services: Integrating Responses to a Dual Epidemic
Examines opioid use and drug-related infectious diseases. Identifies the barriers to integration of opioid use disorder (OUD) and infectious disease services, including barriers faced in rural areas such as workforce shortages. Offers strategies to overcome those barriers. Offers case studies of programs that have successfully integrated services, including programs serving rural areas. Includes policy recommendations.
Additional links: Read Online, Report Highlights
Author(s): Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice
Date: 2020
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Engagement With Project ECHO to Increase Medication-Assisted Treatment in Rural Primary Care
Examines a study on the barriers and facilitators to implementing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder between Project ECHO and rural primary care providers in New Mexico. Bases conclusions on post-ECHO intervention interviews with rural primary care providers and discusses external factors that could factor into the implementation of MAT.
Author(s): Julie Salvador, Snehal Bhatt, Rebecca Fowler, et al.
Citation: Psychiatric Services, 70(12), 1157-1160
Date: 12/2019
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Migration to the US among Rural Puerto Ricans Who Inject Drugs: Influential Factors, Sources of Support, and Challenges for Harm Reduction Interventions
Details a study of the migration patterns of rural people who inject drugs (PWID) from Puerto Rico to the United States. Breaks down data by age, sex, and HIV and HCV status among other measures.
Author(s): R. Abadie, P. Habecker, C. Gelpi-Acosta, K. Dombrowski
Citation: BMC Public Health, 19, 1710
Date: 12/2019
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A Systematic Review of Rural-specific Barriers to Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in the United States
Analyzes a number of studies looking at medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder in rural areas. Explores barriers to accessing MAT in rural areas and makes rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): Jamey J. Lister, Addie Weaver, Jennifer D. Ellis, Joseph A. Himle, David M. Ledgerwood
Citation: The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Date: 12/2019
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Newborns with Withdrawal Symptoms Caused by Maternal Exposure to Select Substances
Reports on the use of International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnosis codes describing withdrawal symptoms of newborns impacted by maternal exposure to certain substances, and identifies the number of newborns impacted by exposure using data from Oklahoma's Medicaid and birth certificate records. Lists clinical symptoms and conditions present among affected newborns, and offers data on the demographic distribution by county, select maternal characteristics, and birth outcomes of newborns with withdrawal symptoms.
Date: 12/2019
Sponsoring organization: Oklahoma State Department of Health
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The Strong African American Families Program Improves Lives of Rural African American Youth
Video with transcript, describing a program developed by the Center for Family Research at the University of Georgia, designed to foster wellbeing and improve outcomes for rural African American young people ages 10-14. Describes challenges they face, and explores ways in which the program strengthens parenting, promotes youth protective factors, and decreases the likelihood that participants will engage in high-risk behaviors, including substance abuse.
Date: 12/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Institute on Drug Abuse
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Opioid Prescribing Among Adults With Disabilities in the United States After the 2014 Federal Hydrocodone Rescheduling Regulation
Examines the impact of the 2014 federal rescheduling regulation regarding hydrocodone-combination products on Medicare beneficiaries with disabilities. Provides maps of prolonged opioid use by Medicare beneficiaries with disabilities by state before and after the regulation was implemented. Includes data analysis of beneficiaries in metropolitan, urban, and rural areas.
Author(s): Victor Law, Yong-Fang Kuo, Mukaila A. Raji, Jacques Baillargeon
Citation: Public Health Reports, 135(1), 114-123
Date: 12/2019
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