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Rural Health Information Hub

New Resources Identified in the Past 30 Days:

Added May 17, 2024

Calculation of Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings With and Without Inclusion of the Peer Grouping Step
Examines potential implications of including a peer grouping step in the calculation of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Overall Star Ratings. Uses January 2023 Medicare Care Compare data on 3,076 hospitals that received a star rating to calculate the peer groups based on the number of quality measure groups for which hospitals had 3 or more reported measures. Presents data on the characteristics of each peer group, the distribution of star ratings whether the peer grouping step was used or not used, and the number of hospitals with a higher, lower, or identical star rating when the peer grouping step was applied. Compares data by hospital characteristics, including safety-net status, Critical Access Hospital status, rural or urban location, and more.
Author(s): Cameron J. Gettel, Kyle Bagshaw, Li Qin, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(5), e2411933
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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Can ERAS Help Reduce Health Disparities and Overcome Barriers to Equitable Surgical Care in Marginalized Communities?
Discusses the value of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) protocols in rural and marginalized communities. Identifies barriers to access and proposes strategies to increase equity. Highlights aspects of ERAS implementation including pediatrics, health literacy, communication with patients and among providers, telehealth, and more.
Author(s): Chirag Ram, Ruoying Li, Andrew D. Franklin, et al.
Citation: Journal of Pediatric Surgery Open, 7, 100141
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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Converting to Rural Emergency Hospitals
Podcast episode featuring a discussion with Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) Chief Executive Officers in New Mexico and Oklahoma regarding the conversion to REH status. Discusses the conversion process of each REH; how they built trust and buy-in from patients and communities, including state and federal policymakers; and financial considerations of conversion.
Date: 05/2024
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Examining the Dental Care Crisis in America: How Can We Make Dental Care More Affordable and More Available?
Recording of a May 16, 2024, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions hearing on the accessibility and affordability of dental care, including in rural areas. Features testimony from the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.
Additional links: Myechia Minter-Jordan, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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Home-Based Pulmonary Rehabiliation
Highlights a model for delivering home-based pulmonary rehabilitation care for older rural veterans. Presents challenges facing rural veterans with pulmonary diseases, such as COPD, and explores methods for at-home rehabilitation via a 12-week treatment plan.
Additional links: One-page Overview
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
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How Ohio Public Library Systems Respond to Opioid-Related Substance Use: A Descriptive Analysis of Survey Results
Reports on measures to deter substance use and prevent overdose in 56 Ohio public library systems, with comparisons of rural, town, suburban, and city library systems. Includes data on evidence of opioid use, response measures, and capacity to respond to opioid use.
Author(s): Patrick M. Schnell, Ruochen Zhao, Sydney Schoenbeck, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 24, 1336
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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Oklahoma Cancer Prevention & Control Plan 2023-2028: Cancer is Not OK!
Outlines goals and strategies to prevent cancer, reduce deaths, and increase quality of life among people living with cancer in Oklahoma. Includes data and recommendations related to prevention, screening, survivorship, and population health. See pages 60-61 for discussion of cancer disparities and access barriers in rural areas.
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Oklahoma Comprehensive Cancer Network (OCCN), Oklahoma State Department of Health
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Regional and Rural-urban Patterns in the Prevalence of Diagnosed Hypertension among Older U.S. Adults with Diabetes, 2005–2017
Explores trends in the prevalence of diagnosed hypertension among Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes across four geographic regions between 2005 and 2017. Examines Medicare administrative claims data to describe sociodemographic characteristics of the sampled beneficiaries with diabetes. Uses the 2013 CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) classification scheme to compare the age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension in each region over time by rurality.
Author(s): Jalal Uddin, Sha Zhu, Gargya Malla, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 24, 24, 1326
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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Rural Comprehensive Cancer Care: Qualitative Analysis of Current Challenges and Opportunities
Highlights a study aiming to understand the challenges in providing comprehensive cancer care in rural hospitals from the prospective of rural providers. Bases finding on interviews with 13 practitioners providing cancer care in rural hospitals in Iowa. Identifies strengths and barriers to providing cancer care in rural hospitals.
Author(s): Sydney Evans, Aaron T. Seaman, Erin C. Johnson, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
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Service & Resource Sharing in Rural Settings: A Perspective Report - Overcoming Common Barriers Faced by Rural Local Health Departments
Discusses the challenges of small and rural local health departments (LHDs) regarding limited resources and capacity. Analyzes 12 examples of service and resource sharing arrangements (SRSAs) that allow LHDs to improve the quality of their services, advance health equity, and provide better healthcare access to local populations.
Author(s): Wyatt J. Beckman, Haleigh Leslie, Christen Minnick, Olivia Sulivan, Nneoma Ubah
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health Research, Kansas Health Institute, Public Health Accreditation Board Center for Innovation
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