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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Veterans and Access to Healthcare – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Veterans and Access to Healthcare.

Connecting Unstably Housed Veterans Living in Rural Areas to Health Care: Perspectives From Health Care Navigators
Highlights a study of VA healthcare navigators (HCNs) effectiveness in helping rural veterans experiencing housing instability access healthcare services. Explores interpersonal, intrapersonal, and community-level barriers and facilitators to HCN services.
Author(s): Kalea Jones, Meagan Cusack, Gala True, et al.
Citation: Health Services Research, 59(S2), e14316
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
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Differential Effects of a Social Work Staffing Intervention on Social Work Access Among Rural and Highly Rural Veterans: A Cohort Study
Presents a study on the efficacy of a VA program to expand access of social work services to rural veterans. Draws data from VA sites that participated in the program from October 2016 to September 2021. Compares social worker utilization by rural and urban veterans and breaks down data by age, race, and reason for visit, among other factors.
Author(s): Andrew N. Honken, Christopher W. Halladay, Lisa E. Wootton, et al.
Citation: Health Services Research, 59(S2), e14327
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
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Initial Validation of a Short Version of the PERMA Profiler in a National Sample of Rural Veterans
Highlights a study on the wellbeing of rural veterans with service-connected disabilities or health conditions. Breaks down data by age, gender, and education, among other measures. Compares wellbeing scores with veterans without service-connected disabilities.
Author(s): Emre Umucu, Teresa Ann Granger, Deyu Pan, et al.
Citation: Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1500659
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
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Differing Needs for Advance Care Planning in the Veterans Health Administration: Use of Latent Class Analysis to Identify Subgroups to Enhance Advance Care Planning via Group Visits for Veterans
Analyzes the Advance Care Planning via Group Visits (ACP-GV) intervention among identifiable subgroups and their potential differing needs. Examines healthcare records of 26,857 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) users regarding their ACP knowledge and planning, with demographic breakdowns according to race/ethnicity, sex, marital status, and rural versus urban location.
Author(s): Monica M. Matthieu, Songthip T. Ounpraseuth, J. Silas Williams, et al.
Citation: BMC Medical Ethics, 25, 120
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
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Recommended Language for Veteran Status Screening Question in Health Centers
Provides best practices for how to identify veteran populations during screening at Health Centers. Includes data on percentage and number of veteran patients for selected states. Slide 3 shows the percentage of patients seen in rural versus urban locations.
Author(s): Gina Capra
Date: 10/2024
Type: Presentation Slides
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
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Charting a Path to Comprehensive Healthcare for Rural Veterans, with Matt Coleman and James VanCleave
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Matt Coleman, Director of the Kentucky State Office of Rural Health, and James VanCleave, Rural Project Manager, Veterans Services for the KORH. Focuses on their work helping veterans access services and receive care and benefits from the VA and other providers.
Date: 10/2024
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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"We Don't Get That Information Right Back to Us Unless It's a Full-Blown Cancer": Challenges Coordinating Lung Cancer Screening Across Healthcare Systems
Discusses how lung cancer screening (LCS) is coordinated across veteran affairs (VA) and non-VA healthcare systems. Analyzes 6 VA medical centers with LCS programs and provides feedback from semi-structured interviews with related LCS program and healthcare professionals. Discusses challenges with LCS coordination across the care continuum, with commentary specific to rural veterans.
Author(s): Rendelle E. Bolton, Eduardo R. Núñez, Jacqueline Boudreau, et al.
Citation: Health Services Research
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
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America's Military and Veteran Caregivers: Hidden Heroes Emerging from the Shadows
Offers a profile of caregivers for military members and veterans. Discusses demographic, physical and mental health, geography, costs, support systems, and more. Includes recommendations for healthcare access, policy, and research based on report findings. Discusses rural throughout and includes an analysis on the differences between rural and urban caregiving in Chapter 7.
Author(s): Rajeev Ramchand, Sarah Dalton, Tamara Dubowitz, et al.
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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Training Satisfaction and Future Employment Consideration Among Physician and Nursing Trainees at Rural Veterans Affairs Facilities in the United States During COVID-19: A Time-Series Before and After Study
Presents a study on the perceptions of trainee clinicians in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on the satisfaction they feel towards their training and future employment in rural and urban facilities and compares their answers before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Bases finding on a survey of physicians and nurses in rural and urban areas receiving training in a VA facility and compares responses from August, 2018 to July, 2021.
Author(s): Heather Northcraft, Tiffany Radcliff, Anne Reid Griffin, et al.
Citation: Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions, 21, 25
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
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Veterans in Focus: Disability and Veterans in Rural America
Fact sheet highlighting 2018-2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates related to rural disabled veterans. Includes data on service-connected disability, geography including rural and urban comparisons, and access to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare facilities. Discusses opportunities for Centers for Independent Living.
Author(s): Hannah W. Pepprock, Lillie Greiman
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Montana: Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities
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Additional resources are available related to this guide. See the full list of resources by topic for:


Last Updated: 11/19/2024