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Rural Veterans and Access to Healthcare – Resources

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

Native American Veterans: Ensuring Access to VA Health Care and Benefits
Recording of a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discusses access to benefits and healthcare for American Indian and Alaska Native veterans. Features testimonies from representatives for the Indian Health Service, the Veterans Health Administration, the Blackfeet Veterans Alliance, the National Congress of American Indians, the National Indian Health Board, and National Council of Urban Indian Health.
Additional links: Larry Wright Jr. Testimony, Leo Pollock Testimony, Mark Upton Testimony, Nickolaus Lewis Testimony, Roselyn Tso Testimony, Sonya Tetnowski Testimony
Date: 11/2022
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate
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Improving the Oral Health of Rural Veterans
Report explores rural veterans' access to oral healthcare. Compares the oral health of rural and urban veterans, highlights barriers to oral healthcare in rural areas, and makes recommendations for expanding access to oral healthcare.
Author(s): Annaliese Cothron, Hayam Megally, Don Clermont
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
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Veterans Community Care Program: VA Needs to Strengthen Its Oversight and Improve Data on Its Community Care Network Providers
Describes how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) monitors contractor compliance with the Veterans Community Care Program network adequacy standards and related requirements. Examines the extent to which the VA's contractors are meeting network adequacy standards. Discusses the experiences of VA medical facility officials when scheduling routine appointments for veterans. Offers recommendations to ensure that contractors report complete performance data and increase the accuracy of community provider information.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Counties With High Veteran Poverty Rates Tend to Be Nonmetropolitan
Map identifying counties with high or extreme high poverty rates among military veterans, based on American Community Survey 2015-2019 data.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Evidence Brief: Safety and Effectiveness of Telehealth-Delivered Mental Health Care
Presents an overview of research evidence on the safety and effectiveness of telehealth-based mental healthcare for veterans. Discusses outcomes and studies of telehealth treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, substance use, and multiple mental health conditions.
Additional links: Supplemental Materials
Author(s): E.H. Beech, S. Young, J.K. Anderson, B.E. Belsher, N.J. Parr
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
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Mapping Rural and Urban Veterans' Spatial Access to Primary Care Following the MISSION Act
Presents a study on primary care access for rural, micropolitan, and urban areas after the implementation of the 2018 MISSION Act. Bases findings on supply and demand of and for primary care providers in regions of varying rurality for veterans in Oregon.
Author(s): Eliana Sullivan, Whitney E. Zahnd, Jane M. Zhu, et al.
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(12), 2941-2947
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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National Veteran Health Equity Report
Examines Veterans Affairs (VA) data concerning the sociodemographics, utilization patterns, and rates of diagnosed health conditions among various groups of veterans to monitor, evaluate and act on identified disparities in healthcare access, use, quality, and health outcomes. Chapter 5 developed by the VA Office of Rural Health provides detailed information comparing rural and urban data.
Additional links: American Indian or Alaska Native Veteran Chartbook, Asian and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Veteran Chartbook, Black Veteran Chartbook, Full Report, Hispanic and Latino Veteran Chartbook
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration
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Long Drives and Red Tape: Mapping Rural Veteran Access to Primary Care Using Causal-Loop Diagramming
Explores the factors that contribute to barriers to primary care for rural veterans. Discusses how factors such as physical distance to VA facilities, the efficacy of VA programs, and other factors combine to affect levels of primary care access for veterans in rural areas.
Author(s): Erin S. Kenzie, Mary Patzel, Erik Nelson, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 22, 1075
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
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VA Forum, Summer 2022
Presents several studies on issues pertaining to healthcare delivery to veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlights information on myocardial infarctions, mental healthcare, and care disruption caused by the pandemic, among other topics.
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: VA Health Services Research & Development Service
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Physical, Speech, Rehabilitative, or Occupational Therapy Use Among Adults Aged 25–64, by Veteran Status: United States, 2019–2020
Describes the use of physical, speech, rehabilitative, or occupational therapy in the past 12 months by veteran status among adults aged 25-64. Includes data for large central metro, large fringe metro, medium and small metro, and nonmetropolitan areas.
Author(s): Peter Boersma, Robin A. Cohen
Date: 07/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Last Updated: 4/16/2024