Rural Health Information Hub Latest News

Cost-Effectiveness of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program

This month, HRSA published a pair of manuscripts demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS).

These two papers present findings from the first formal evaluation of the RWHAP’s cost-effectiveness at a national level. The first paper presents a new and innovative mathematical model that can be used as a tool for estimating the cost-effectiveness of the RWHAP under a variety of policy scenarios and assumptions. The second paper compares estimated health care costs and outcomes over a 50-year period in the presence of the RWHAP relative to those expected if the comprehensive and integrated system of medical and support services funded by the RWHAP were not available.

Read the first paper.

Read the second paper.

Cancer Disparities among Rural Racial/Ethnic Minorities in U.S.

New research from the University of South Carolina shows that rural Black populations have the highest cancer mortality rate in the U.S.

The report, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, also indicates cancer mortality rates among rural White and Black populations exceed those of their urban counterparts. The report summarizes how racism and social determinants of health disproportionately affect rural racial/ethnic minorities, examining cancer disparities in particular, and offers recommendations to reduce them. The research was funded by HRSA in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute.

Read the report.

Expanding Diabetes Prevention and Management through Health Center Outreach

According to the Community Preventive Services Task Force, Community Health Workers (CHWs) may address a broad range of health issues and include interventions that focus on diabetes among members of their community. Interventions are delivered to community groups or individuals at increased risk of type 2 diabetes, primarily through information on improvements in diet, physical activity, and weight. This training, hosted by the National Center for Health in Public Housing, will address diabetes resources for CHWs, explain the roles and competencies of CHWs in diabetes prevention and how CHWs can help patients with diabetes with food insecurity and other social determinants of health via community resources. Learn more and register.

Quarterly Heart Health Office Hours and Other Resources

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is celebrating American Heart Month this year by launching a quarterly Heart Health Office Hours. It is a web-based learning series highlighting evidence-based interventions to improve heart health. The inaugural session–Are Hypertension Control Innovations that Maximize Team-Based Care Effective?–on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 3:00 pm, will feature two health centers sharing their experiences implementing team-based care to improve hypertension control. Registration is required. You can also access a suite of resources from NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, hypertension toolkits from the CDC, and The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Control Hypertension that outlines goals and strategies to improve hypertension control. The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) has also provided the following resources: Roadmap Quality Improvement Tool to Improve Blood Pressure Control for African AmericansNACHC SMBP Implementation ToolkitMillion Hearts® national SMBP Forum, and their Hypertension Screening and Control Action Guide.

Telehealth “Passport” Cuts through Licensing Red Tape

The Federation of State Medical Boards has launched Provider Bridge, a license-portability initiative that will allow certain clinicians to work across state lines. Clinicians can register and receive a digital Provider Bridge Passport, which collects their active licenses, disciplinary history, specialty certifications and DEA registration and NPI numbers. The clinicians can then submit that passport to a health system, hospital or other care provider in need of help. It’s currently limited to physicians and physician assistants, but the Federation plans to expand the program to other healthcare professionals. Read more.