Rural

The study explored opportunities for enhanced screening using telehealth and electronic patient-reported outcomes at five HRSA-funded Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program clinics in Alabama – one of seven mostly rural states prioritized for the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative. While there were concerns among survey respondents around lack of in-person interaction, the study revealed opportunities to expand technology use in rural areas.

The National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services recently published a policy brief on behavioral health and primary care integration in rural health facilities.

The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy has awarded over $1 million to the Georgia Health Policy Center in a three-year cooperative agreement intended to provide nationwide technical assistance (TA) to rural health care networks responding to COVID-19, pandemic-related workforce shortages. The TA will help rural health care networks expand the public health workforce capacity by supporting job development, training, and placement in rural communities

In August 2022, HRSA announced investments of nearly $60 million in combined awards across five programs to increase access to quality health care in rural communities. These programs address workforce shortages, the sustainability of small rural hospitals, and high quality care to rural veterans.

A new brief from the National Center for Health Statistics gives geographic detail on the latest increase in overdose death rates. Overall, urban counties had higher rates, but eight states – California, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia – had rates that were higher in rural counties.

Researchers looked at survey responses from women of reproductive age across eight rural U.S. regions to determine the association between contraceptive use and SUD treatment, healthcare utilization, and substance use.

More than 600 people registered and 300 attended an information session on Thursday, June 30, 2022 about first-of-its kind funding to address rural homelessness from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The recording, PowerPoint handout, audio, and transcript is available from the webinar.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a broad, new initiative to connect individuals and families to housing, health care, and supportive services. Total funding of $322 million is a supplement to HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) Program, with $43 million for incremental housing vouchers for at-risk households, and $54 million set aside for projects in rural areas.

In 2019, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began supporting research on treatment for opioid use disorder in criminal justice settings. The Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) studies the effectiveness of new medications and other interventions as part of the NIH HEAL Initiative – Helping to End Addiction Long-Term.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced nearly $15 million awarded to rural communities to continue addressing misuse of illegal and prescription drugs known as psychostimulants.  These awards are part of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP), a multi-year initiative with $400 million invested since its start in 2018.