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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Technology for health and human services

Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program: Feedback Should Be Provided to Applicants Receiving Equitable Distribution Grants
Provides an overview of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) and the grants awarded under the program through July 25, 2023. Summarizes findings from a review of program documents and interviews and surveys with program officials and eligible entities regarding whether applicants who received equitable distribution grants received constructive feedback to improve applications in subsequent rounds of funding.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Broadband and Student Performance Gaps After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Analyzes the impact of broadband access during the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent student experience in rural Michigan. Provides data and information related to digital device and broadband access, learning from home, student achievement and wellbeing, and future directions for broadband equity.
Author(s): Keith N. Hampton, Gabriel E. Hales, Johannes M. Bauer
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Michigan State University, Quello Center
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Dual Barriers: Examining Digital Access and Travel Burdens to Hospital Maternity Care Access in the United States, 2020
Analyzes the relationship between drive time to hospital maternity units and access to digital/telehealth care in mitigating travel burden. Utilizes 2020 American Hospital Association Annual Survey data with information broken down by rural versus urban location, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and broadband and digital device access.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Marion Granger, Nansi Boghossian, et al.
Citation: The Milbank Quarterly, 101(4), 1327-1347
Date: 08/2023
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Ensuring Age-Friendly Public Health in Rural Communities: Challenges, Opportunities, and Model Programs
Discusses the components of age-friendly environments and how to support public health efforts that improve the lives of aging residents in rural areas. Provides data related to rural technology access, rural versus urban poverty rates and healthcare provider workforce, and county-level U.S. maps of percentage of population aged 65 or older and rural versus urban majority communities. Includes innovations and recommendations for age-friendly public health systems.
Author(s): M. Aaron Guest, Megan Wolfe, Karon Phillips, Jane Hook
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: Trust for America's Health
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Report: Understanding Disaster Resiliency Factors for Broadband Deployments
Highlights broadband infrastructure vulnerabilities at the census block level related to natural disasters. Discusses unserved and underserved areas as well as 2 rural focused case studies. Makes recommendations to policymakers for a more resilient broadband infrastructure. Includes the Broadband Climate Risk Mitigation Tool for county and census block data.
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: Center on Rural Innovation
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Social Needs Screening among Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals, 2022
Examines the extent to which non-federal acute care hospitals collect and receive data on individual patients' health-related social needs using data from the 2022 American Hospital Association (AHA) Information Technology (IT) supplement. Describes how these data are used to promote patient and population health. Includes data on the routine collection of social needs and use of structured screening tools or diagnosis codes by hospital characteristics, including rural location, Critical Access Hospital designation, and size.
Author(s): Wei Chang, Chelsea Richwine
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Changes in Telehealth Experienced by Advanced Practice RNs During COVID-19
Summarizes 7,467 advanced practice RNs' national survey responses from June-September 2020 about the use of telehealth before and during the pandemic, and analyzes free-text comments about how the use of telehealth changed during the pandemic. Discusses challenges in rural areas, including provider shortages and lack of broadband access.
Author(s): Mavis N. Schorn, Carole R. Myers, Julie Barroso, et al.
Citation: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 41(7), 507–513
Date: 07/2023
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Indian Health Service: Actions Needed to Improve Use of Data on Adverse Events
Examines how the Indian Health Service (IHS) uses its electronic health record system to monitor healthcare quality and adverse events at federally-operated facilities. Discusses how IHS informs clinicians and patients about options for telehealth use. Offers recommendations to IHS regarding regularly reviewing adverse event trends, making improvements, and disseminating best practices.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Telehealth in Michigan: Insights and Data for Effective Policymaking
Examines telehealth usage in Michigan for the purpose of policymaking. Evaluates the impact of expanding telehealth in rural Michigan, usage by Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics, broadband, and more. Suggests policy recommendations including for issues in rural telehealth.
Author(s): Chad Ellimoottil, Ziwei Zhu, Xinwei Hi, Monica Van Til
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Ethel & James Flinn Foundation, Michigan Health Endowment Fund
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A Rural Accountable Care Organization's Journey
Profiles South East Rural Physicians Alliance Accountable Care Organization (SERPA‐ACO), a physician‐led ACO consisting of 16 Nebraska clinics - 13 of which are rural. Describes various value-based payment models SERPA-ACO clinics participated in and activities the clinics use to succeed in these models. Includes recommendations for primary care clinics considering joining an ACO.
Date: 06/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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