Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Substance Use and Misuse in Rural Areas – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Substance Use and Misuse in Rural Areas.

PrEP Care Continuum Engagement Among Persons Who Inject Drugs: Rural and Urban Differences in Stigma and Social Infrastructure
Study examining stigma related to drug use and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as well as awareness of Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) treatment in New York City and rural southern Illinois. Highlights barriers and facilitators to willingness to take PrEP based on interviews with 57 people who inject drugs (PWID) who participate in syringe service programs, comparing rural and urban responses.
Author(s): Suzan M. Walters, David Frank, Brent Van Ham, et al.
Citation: AIDS and Behavior
Date: 10/2021
Type: Document
view details
Mental Health System Development in Rural and Remote Areas during COVID-19
Report highlights the barriers faced by rural, remote, and tribal communities to accessing mental healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Details rates of mental health treatment over the past year and compares rural and urban communities. Discusses factors affecting access in rural areas such as workforce shortages, lack of telehealth services, and lack of culturally competent care for American Indian and Alaska Native populations, among others.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
view details
Ready to Respond: Mental Health Beyond Crisis and COVID-19
Report highlights strategies for addressing the need for mental health services in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Details seven recommendations for state mental health programs post-pandemic and discusses workforce challenges and how telehealth can be used to expand access to care to rural and underserved areas.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
view details
Secondhand Smoke Exposure at Home and/ or in a Vehicle: Differences Between Urban and Non-Urban Adolescents in the United States, From 2015 to 2018
Explores geographic disparities in secondhand smoke exposure for urban and non-urban youth. Analyzes 69,249 middle and high school students from the 2015-2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey and breaks down the sample by sex, grade level, race/ethnicity, type of tobacco, status related to living with a tobacco user, year studied, and urban versus non-urban location.
Author(s): Dale S. Mantey, Onyinye Omega-Njemnobi, Cristina S. Barroso
Citation: Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 23(8), 1327-1333
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
view details
Improving Behavioral Health Services for Individuals with SMI in Rural and Remote Communities
Discusses behavioral health workforce shortages in rural and remote areas and the effect this has on healthcare access for people with serious mental illness (SMI). Highlights strategies for reducing barriers to access and improve workforce retention. Provides examples of programs to improve access in various states.
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: American Psychiatric Association, SMI Adviser, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
view details
Barriers for Implementing the Hub and Spoke Model to Expand Medication for Opioid Use Disorder: A Case Study of Montana
Highlights a study of the barriers to the implementation of hub and spoke programs to provide treatment for opioid use disorder in rural Montana. Features data based on interviews with 65 programs that provide medication for opioid use disorder in Montana and discusses the barriers to their efforts.
Author(s): Brandn Green, Danielle Christine Rhubart, Matthew R Filteau
Citation: Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, 15
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
view details
Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Innovations in Native American Communities
Report highlights the efforts of tribal programs to address opioid use disorder in their communities. Presents success stories of programs providing culturally competent treatment, prevention, and recovery for American Indian and Alaska Native communities in several states.
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National American Indian and Alaska Native Addiction Technology Transfer Center
view details
Multilevel Modeling of County-level Excessive Alcohol Use, Rurality, and COVID-19 Case Fatality Rates in the US
Presents a study on the relationship between COVID-19 outcomes and elevated alcohol use in rural counties. Looks at levels of alcohol use and misuse in rural counties prior to the pandemic and compares it with COVID-19 mortality data. Breaks down data by rurality and alcohol use while controlling for other comorbidities such as obesity, smoking, and being over the age of 65.
Author(s): George Pro, Paul A. Gilbert, Julie A. Baldwin, et al.
Citation: PLOS ONE, 16(6), e0253466
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
view details
The Co-Occurrence of HIV and Opioid Mortality in Rural and Urban America from 1999-2018
Policy brief evaluating trends in mortality from Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and opioid use in rural and urban areas, using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiology Research (WONDER) mortality database. Features statistics on mortality by sex, race or ethnicity, and census region, with breakdowns by 6 levels of population density.
Author(s): Timothy Callaghan, Kristen Primm, Marvellous Akinlotan, et al.
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
view details
Telehealth for the Treatment of Serious Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders
Evidence-based resource guide examining telehealth initiatives to treat serious mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorders (SUD) based on published research. Topics cover effectiveness of telehealth modalities, implementation of evidence-based practices, examples of telehealth treatment programs, and evaluation resources. Discusses rural-specific concerns throughout the guide.
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
view details

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


Last Updated: 6/19/2024