Substance Use and Misuse in Rural Areas – Resources

Tackling America's Mental Health and Addiction Crisis Through Primary Care Integration
Explores how primary and behavioral healthcare integration can overcome the unmet needs for mental health and substance use services. Discusses barriers to integrated care delivery. Offers policy recommendations to improve the integration of primary and behavioral healthcare services through enhanced payments, training, and technical assistance, and improving access to behavioral health providers for consultation and referral.
Additional links: Infographic
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
view details

Urban–Rural Differences in Drug Overdose Death Rates, 1999–2019
Examines age-adjusted drug overdose deaths in urban and rural counties. Includes urban-rural data on overdose deaths overall and for selected types of opioids and stimulants from 1999 through 2019. Identifies states with higher overdose deaths in rural counties, higher rates in urban counties, and states with no significant difference between rural and urban overdose death rates.
Author(s): Holly Hedegaard, Merianne Rose Spencer
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
view details

Alcohol- and Drug-Related Consequences Across Latent Classes of Substance Use Among American Indian Adolescents
Examines differences across four classes of substance use behaviors by American Indian (AI) adolescents. Classes include: no substance use in the past month; marijuana and cigarette use only; alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use only; and other substance use in addition to alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes. Goal of study is to determine the extent of substance-related mortality and morbidity, tendency toward developing a substance-use disorder, and other related health disparities.
Author(s): Schick, M.R., Goldstein, S.C., Nalven, T., Spillane, N.S.
Citation: Addictive Behaviors, 113
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
view details

Opioid and Substance Use Strategies for Critical Access Hospitals
Recording of a February 26, 2021, webinar discussing the role of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in addressing opioid and substance use disorders (O/SUDs) in local systems of care. Provides a framework to support CAH opioid and substance use initiatives. Highlights examples of O/SUD activities taken by CAHs and offers lessons learned.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 02/2021
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
view details

Projected Estimates of Opioid Mortality After Community-Level Interventions
Presents a study on the effectiveness of different evidence-based practices to prevent opioid overdose mortality in simulated rural and urban communities. Highlights data by evidence-based practice and by projected rural and urban population group, which is broken down by age, sex, and opioid injection versus non-injection.
Author(s): Benjamin P. Linas, Alexandra Savinkina, R. W. M. A. Madushani, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 4(2), e2037259
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
view details

Opioid-Related Visits to Rural Emergency Departments
Explores the impact of the opioid crisis on rural emergency departments (EDs) by analyzing 2006 and 2013 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) data. Compares opioid-related ED visits in rural and urban hospitals by type of opioid involved and year. Breaks down data by patient characteristics, comorbid diagnosis at admission, and outcome of ED visit.
Author(s): Erika C. Ziller, Jean A. Talbot, Deborah Thayer, Carly Milkowski
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
view details

Harm Reduction and Adaptations Among PWUD in Rural Oregon During COVID-19
Presents a study on harm reduction practices during the COVID-19 pandemic for people who use drugs (PWUDs) in rural Oregon. Bases findings on interviews with PWUDs in 5 rural counties. Breaks down data by gender, race, and drugs used. Discusses the effect of COVID-19 on syringe service programs in rural areas.
Author(s): Andrew Seaman, Gillian Leichtling, Erin Stack, et al.
Citation: AIDS and Behavior, 25(5), 1331–1339
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
view details

Telemedicine for Tobacco Cessation and Prevention to Combat COVID-19 Morbidity and Mortality in Rural Areas
Discusses the use of telehealth to initiate tobacco cessation programs in rural areas as a means of limiting comorbidity and mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlights the rates of tobacco use in rural areas by type and compares rates to urban areas. Explores several examples of programs using telemedicine to implement successful models of tobacco cessation treatment in the U.S. and in Hong Kong.
Author(s): Ashley L. Merianos, Bradley Fevrier, E. Melinda Mahabee-Gittens
Citation: Frontiers in Public Health, 8, 598905
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
view details

Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder May Reduce Substantiated Cases of Child Abuse and Neglect
Highlights a study on the correlation between opioid use disorder (OUD) and child maltreatment. Specifically, the effect buprenorphine treatment for OUD has on rates of maltreatment. Discusses challenges and considerations for rural areas.
Author(s): Robin Ghertner, Mir M. Ali
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
view details

COVID-19 and Rural Harm Reduction Challenges in the U.S. Southern Mountains
Explores the relationship between drug use and COVID-19 infections in the Southern Mountains region of Appalachia. Highlights the changes caused by COVID-19 and the challenges harm reduction programs face in providing services, such as syringe exchanges, naloxone access, and COVID-19-related services.
Author(s): Bayla Ostrach, Lesly-Marie Buer, Sam Armbruster, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(1), 252-255
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
view details