Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Veterans and Access to Healthcare – Resources

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

Eight Priorities for Improving Primary Care Access Management in Healthcare Organizations: Results of a Modified Delphi Stakeholder Panel
Details the results of a panel on improving access to primary healthcare in the Veterans Health Administration. Includes panelists representing rural populations and provides recommendation for improving access management.
Author(s): Lisa Rubenstein, Susanne Hempel, Margie Danz, et al.
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35(2), 523-530
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
view details
Potentially Avoidable Inter-Facility Transfer from Veterans Health Administration Emergency Departments: A Cohort Study
Presents a study on potentially avoidable inter-facility transfers within Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities. Details patient characteristics, such as rurality of residence and age, as well as transfer location characteristics, such as number of beds and median length of stay, among other factors.
Author(s): Nicholas M. Mohr, Chaorong Wu, Michael J. Ward, et al.
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 20,110
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
view details
VA Health Care: Veterans' Use of Long-Term Care Is Increasing, and VA Faces Challenges in Meeting the Demand
Discusses the increasing demand for long-term care for veterans and evaluates the Veterans Administration's effort to meet that demand. Looks at some the challenges to providing care to an expanding population of veterans, including those in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Defense Health Care: Plans Needed to Ensure Implementation of Required Elements for TRICARE's Managed Care Support Contracts
Report highlights the Government Accountability Office recommendations for the implementation of changes to the Department of Defense's TRICARE managed support contracts that were required by Congress. Evaluates the specific improvements relating to healthcare delivery and touches on their importance in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
VA Health Care: Efforts to Prioritize and Translate Research into Clinical Practice
Examines how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) sets priorities for funding research, VA efforts to facilitate translation of research into clinical practice, and coordination between VA's research program and other parts of the VA. Briefly highlights a research study on the use of telemedicine outreach for rural veterans with PTSD.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Associations Between Stopping Prescriptions for Opioids, Length of Opioid Treatment, and Overdose or Suicide Deaths in US Veterans: Observational Evaluation
Highlights a study on the correlation between halting treatment for opioid use disorder, length of treatment, and death from overdose or suicide among Veterans Health Administration patients. Breaks down data by age, sex, and rural status among other factors.
Author(s): Elizabeth M Oliva, Thomas Bowe, Ajay Manhapra, et al.
Citation: BMJ, 2020: m283
Date: 2020
Type: Document
view details
Improving Behavioral Health Screening & Access to Treatment for Veterans in Community Care
Describes a partnership between Veterans Rural Health Resource Center in Iowa City, Iowa; the Iowa Primary Care Association; and the Community Health Centers of Southeastern Iowa. Provides an overview of Phase I of the collaboration, which focused on implementing a new screening process at 4 rural FQHCs to properly identify all veterans seeking care. Discusses the broader impact of this initiative and next steps.
Date: 2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Community Health Centers of Southeastern Iowa, Iowa Primary Care Association, Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
view details
The VA MISSION Act of 2018: A Potential Game Changer for Rural GME Expansion and Veteran Health Care
Describes features of the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act of 2018, including expansion of graduate medical education (GME) to rural areas, modernization of facilities, and financial aid for providers willing to accept VA assignments in shortage areas. Explores ways in which the MISSION Act can promote more effective and efficient care programs for veterans in rural and underserved areas.
Author(s): Anthony P. Albanese, Edward T. Bope, Karen M. Sanders, Marjorie Bowman
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 36(1), 133-136
Date: 2020
Type: Document
view details
Veterans Health Care: Services for Substance Use Disorders, and Efforts to Address Access Issues in Rural Areas
Identifies and compares the differences in the number of veterans, and the expenditures for veterans receiving substance use disorder (SUD) services, and specialty SUD services in rural and urban areas. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) policies were reviewed, interviews were conducted with agency officials, and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data from 2014 to 2018 was analyzed to develop the report.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Oversight Hearing on "Recognizing the Sacrifice: Honoring a Nation's Promise to Native Veterans" & Legislative Hearing to Receive Testimony on S. 1001 & S. 2365
Presents the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing on the Tribal Veterans Health Care Enhancement Act and the Health Care Access for Urban Native Veterans Act. Features testimony from representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, and the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes.
Date: 11/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
view details

Additional resources are available related to this guide. See the full list of resources by topic for:


Last Updated: 4/29/2024