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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Type: Document

Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure: Information on Identified Needs, Planning for Future Conditions, and Coordination of Project Funding
Reviews federal programs that provide funding for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects and describes how infrastructure needs are identified. Also details how federal agencies support states' efforts and the extent to which federal agencies coordinate funding initiatives. Analysis is based on a review of infrastructure projects in 6 states: Alaska, California, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, and Tennessee.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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In Focus: Expanding Access to Addiction Treatment Through Primary Care
Discusses the lack of access to treatment for drug addiction and presents models for implementing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for addiction, including one in a rural community health center. Looks at barriers to expanding MAT in primary care, as well as methods for overcoming those barriers.
Author(s): Martha Hostetter, Sarah Klein
Citation: Transforming Care: Reporting on Health System Improvement
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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Tackling the Opioid Crisis in a Rural Community
Discusses a partnership between a rural hospital physician and the director of a community counseling center to establish a medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid addiction in rural Maine. Presents the program's support structure, as well as the advantages of having an integrated treatment approach.
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Promoting a Nutritious Diet Inside and Outside the Hospital
Highlights a rural Vermont hospital's efforts to promote healthier eating habits both inside and outside the hospital by locally sourcing food, encouraging participation in their "Ton of Tomatoes" project, and processing produce to help food-insecure community members. Discusses efforts of other hospitals promoting healthy diets, including removing unhealthy cafeteria meal options and promoting community gardens.
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Regional Variation in Medicare Part A, Part B, and Part D Spending and Service Use
Compares Medicare spending and service use based on geographic location, including across metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. Seeks to identify factors that influence regional variation and determine if higher service use and/or spending results in higher quality care and outcomes. Utilizes updated data to build on findings that were published in the January 2011 Report to the Congress: Regional Variation in Medicare Service Use. Data is adjusted to account for differences in payment rates to certain providers, such as Critical Access Hospitals.
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Barriers and Facilitators to Implementation of VA Home-based Primary Care on American Indian Reservations: A Qualitative Multi-case Study
Highlights a study on the efficacy of the Veterans Health Affairs (VA) home-based primary care program at providing non-institutional long-term care for rural American Indian veterans living on reservations. Bases findings on a qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with staff, clinicians, and managers who oversaw the program's implementation. Discusses the challenges, barriers, and facilitators related the program's expansion into Indian Country.
Author(s): B. Josea Kramer, Sarah D. Cote, Diane I. Lee, Beth Creekmur, Debra Saliba
Citation: Implementation Science, 12, 109
Date: 09/2017
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The Appalachia Initiative: A Bipartisan Approach for the 21st Century
Reports on the current challenges facing Appalachia. Breaks down data by education and workforce, entrepreneurism and job creation, energy and infrastructure, and rural health. Looks specifically at mortality rates, obesity and diabetes prevalence, and drug overdose death rates.
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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Longitudinal Analysis of Nut-Inclusive Diets and Body Mass Index Among Overweight and Obese African American Women Living in Rural Alabama and Mississippi, 2011-2013
Results of a weight loss intervention among 383 overweight women in 8 rural Alabama and Mississippi counties, evaluating the association between intake of nuts and other select food groups with participants' body mass index (BMI) over a 24-month period. Features data on participants' income, education, rates of consumption of various foods, and more.
Author(s): Samara R. Sterling, Brenda Bertrand, Suzanne Judd, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 14, 160595
Date: 09/2017
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Rural and Urban Differences in Passenger-Vehicle–Occupant Deaths and Seat Belt Use Among Adults — United States, 2014
Examines motor-vehicle crash deaths and seat belt use by level of rurality. Includes regional rural-urban data on death rates and type of state seat belt enforcement law (primary or secondary). Also provides data on unrestrained passenger-vehicle occupants in fatal crashes by level of rurality. For self-reported seat belt use, includes demographic data for metropolitan and nonmetro counties.
Author(s): Laurie F. Beck, Jonathan Downs, Mark R. Stevens, Erin K. Sauber-Schatz
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 66(17), 1-13
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Confronting Adverse Childhood Experiences to Improve Rural Kids' Lifelong Health
Highlights a western North Carolina school district and a Native American tribe in Wisconsin that are working to address adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Provides an overview of the impact ACEs have on health and provides data on ACE exposure among rural adults.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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