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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Wellness, health promotion, and disease prevention

Examining the Dental Care Crisis in America: How Can We Make Dental Care More Affordable and More Available?
Recording of a May 16, 2024, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions hearing on the accessibility and affordability of dental care, including in rural areas. Features testimony from the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.
Additional links: Myechia Minter-Jordan, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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Rural Comprehensive Cancer Care: Qualitative Analysis of Current Challenges and Opportunities
Highlights a study aiming to understand the challenges in providing comprehensive cancer care in rural hospitals from the prospective of rural providers. Bases finding on interviews with 13 practitioners providing cancer care in rural hospitals in Iowa. Identifies strengths and barriers to providing cancer care in rural hospitals.
Author(s): Sydney Evans, Aaron T. Seaman, Erin C. Johnson, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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Housing for Rural Residents Recovering from Substance Use Disorders
Presents a study featuring a number of programs providing housing for substance use disorder (SUD) recovery in rural communities. Discusses three different case studies on programs in MN, OR, and WV. Highlights the community need, organizational structure, and key features of each program.
Author(s): Katie Rydberg, Ingrid Jacobson, Mariana Tuttle, et al.
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Task Force on Maternal Mental Health: National Strategy to Improve Maternal Mental Health Care
Offers 5 recommendations for improving maternal mental health and associated substance use disorders using a whole-government approach by building infrastructure to improve care. Recommendations discuss federal collaboration, accessibility of care, data gathering, prevention strategies, and engaging those with lived experience. Discusses rural throughout.
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Using a Customer Discovery Process to Enhance the Potential Dissemination and Scalability of a Family Healthy Weight Program for Rural Communities and Small Towns
Reports on factors influencing rural adoption of the Building Healthy Families Online Training Resources and Program Package, a family-based healthy weight program. Utilizes data from interviews with 47 individuals representing potential users, payers, and adoption influencers, including health departments, clinical healthcare providers, and community organizations. Includes discussion of organizational priorities, implementation challenges in clinical and community settings, and more.
Author(s): Gwenndolyn C. Porter, Jennie L. Hill, Kate A. Heelan, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 21, 57
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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Implementation Characteristics That May Promote Sustainability of a Rural Physical Activity Initiative: Examination of Play Streets Through the Lens of Community Implementers
Discusses implementation of Play Streets, a community-based initiative to create safe physical activity areas for children and families, from interviews with program team members in rural Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas. Highlights factors influencing program effectiveness and sustainability, including community engagement, partnerships, and more.
Author(s): Marilyn E. Wende, M. Renée Umstattd Meyer, Cynthia Perry, et al.
Citation: Implementation Science Communications, 5, 48
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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Health Wanted: Finding Care in Rural America
Series of videos highlighting challenges with access to quality healthcare for rural Americans. Discusses healthcare access in remote locations, food insecurity and cultural farming practices, transportation, wellness initiatives, and chronic health conditions in 5 states. Transcript available in video description.
Date: 05/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: American Heart Association
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Primary Care Providers' Experiences Treating Opioid Use Disorder Using Telehealth in the Height of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Presents a study of the experiences of primary care providers who used telehealth for opioid use disorder treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Draws on the insights of participants from rural and urban counties in Kentucky and Arkansas and compares the experiences of rural and urban providers.
Author(s): Sarah Alexandra Marshall, Lachan E. Siebenmorgen, Nickolas Zaller, et al.
Citation: Journal of Primary Care and Community Health, 15
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
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Forces of Change: 2023 Survey Results
Presents results from a 2023 survey of 532 local health departments (LHDs). Provides data on LHD staffing and budgets, billing practices, community health workers, programs and partnerships focused on social determinants of health and violence prevention, data modernization, and outbreak analytics. Includes comparisons of small, medium, and large LHDs.
Author(s): Margaret C. Cunningham, Krishna Patel, Chloe Garofalini, Kellie Hall, Timothy C. McCall
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of County and City Health Officials
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Implementing Harm Reduction Initiatives in Rural Communities
Webinar recording discusses substance use harm reduction, such as safe syringe services. Features a discussion of Project Hope in Menominee, WI and highlights it's successes and challenges in establishing community buy-in and financial sustainability, among other topics.
Additional links: Webinar Slides
Author(s): Eric Atkinson
Date: 04/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Mountain Plains Addiction Technology Transfer Center (Mountain Plains ATTC)
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