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Substance Use and Misuse in Rural Areas – Resources

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

Using Network and Spatial Data to Better Target Overdose Prevention Strategies in Rural Appalachia
Highlights a study aiming to target individuals most likely to need overdose interventions in rural Appalachia. Examines survey data for spatial and networking patterns in rural eastern Kentucky to identify individuals at risk of a drug overdose.
Author(s): Abby E. Rudolph, April M. Young, Jennifer R. Havens
Citation: Journal of Urban Health, 96(1), 27-37
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
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Premature Mortality from All Causes and Drug Poisonings in the USA According to Socioeconomic Status and Rurality: An Analysis of Death Certificate Data by County from 2000–15
Examines premature deaths from drug poisoning versus all causes by county for White, Black, and Latino people. Addresses differences by rural/urban location, socioeconomic status, education level, gender, and race/ethnicity. See additional link for detailed tables.
Additional links: Supplementary Appendix
Author(s): Meredith S. Shiels, Amy Berrington de Gonzalez, Ana F. Best, et al.
Citation: The Lancet, 4(2), e97-e106
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
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Opioid Use Disorder: Challenges and Opportunities in Rural Communities
Discusses challenges rural communities face in providing access to evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Identifies federal and state strategies to address treatment capacity, including expanding the workforce authorized to prescribe buprenorphine and using technology to provide treatment. Highlights how Scott County, Indiana responded to an HIV outbreak related to OUD by addressing the barriers to care faced by people with OUD and HIV.
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pew Charitable Trusts
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Peer Support Specialists Care for and Connect Rural Behavioral Health Clients
Discusses peer support specialists, trained laypeople in recovery with a mental health condition or substance use disorder, and describes the roles they play as mentors and coordinators for clients with similar behavioral health issues. Features peer support specialist programs in rural Arizona, Michigan, and North Dakota.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Exposures to the Tobacco Retail Environment among Adolescent Boys in Urban and Rural Environments
Presents a study on the exposure of rural and urban adolescents to tobacco retailers. Looks at the number of self-reported visits to tobacco stores by adolescent males in urban and Appalachian regions of Ohio.
Author(s): Montgomry L. Burgoon, Thomas Albani, Brittney Keller-Hamilton, et al.
Citation: The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 45(2), 217-226
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
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Association Among County-Level Economic Factors, Clinician Supply, Metropolitan or Rural Location, and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Highlights a study on demographic factors that correlate with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Looks at a county's economic factors, rural status, and clinician supply in 8 different states.
Author(s): Stephen W. Patrick, Laura J. Faherty, Andrew W. Dick, et al.
Citation: JAMA, 321(4), 385-393
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
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The Contributions of Socioeconomic and Opioid Supply Factors to Geographic Variation in U.S. Drug Mortality Rates
Features a study on the geographic variation in opioid overdose mortality. Compares rates of drug mortality from 2000-2002 with 2014-2016 and looks at socioeconomic factors, as well as rural versus urban location.
Author(s): Shannon M. Monnat
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Institute for New Economic Thinking
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Opioid-Related Hospital Stays Among Women in the United States, 2016
Examines opioid-related hospitalizations among women 15 years of age and older. Provides data by location of patient residence for large metropolitan, small/medium metro, and micropolitan/noncore (rural) areas addressing: opioid-related compared to non-opioid stays; co-occurring mental disorder or pregnancy/childbirth; stays related to opioid abuse/dependence, opioid adverse events, and opioid poisoning/self-harm; and patient race/ethnicity by location of residence.
Author(s): Audrey J. Weiss, Kimberly W. McDermott, Kevin C. Heslin
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Association of Pharmaceutical Industry Marketing of Opioid Products With Mortality From Opioid-Related Overdoses
Highlights a study on the correlation between the marketing of opioids and opioid overdose mortality at a county-level. Breaks down data by participants' age, census region, and metro versus nonmetro location, among other factors.
Author(s): Scott E. Hadland, Ariadne Rivera-Aguirre, Brandon D. L. Marshall, Magdalena Cerdá
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 2(1)
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
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The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (P.L.115-271): Medicare Provisions
Provides a section-by-section description of Medicare provisions in the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT Act). Addresses rural in two sections: Section 6083 seeks to expand access to addiction treatment in Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics by paying for training costs to obtain a DATA waiver to furnish OUD treatment; Section 6042 authorizes a demonstration project testing expanded access to MAT drugs through teams with a primary care provider.
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Last Updated: 3/20/2024