This report examines the relationship of rural and urban middle-aged and older adults with one or more chronic conditions who travel long distances to receive medical care, and their utilization of programs focused on prevention and chronic disease management. Participants from 9 counties in central Texas responded to health assessment surveys regarding their number of doctor’s visits within the previous year, distance to receive medical care, residential status, and other personal characteristics. Read more here.

While child mortality rates in the U.S. have decreased, researchers find the improvements were not equal among minorities in rural areas. This article includes data outlining the disparities and emphasizes the importance of continuing research to further improve child mortality rates. Read more here.

Adults in the U.S. are visiting primary care doctors less often, according to a new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, a trend that is troubling since primary care is there to keep people healthy.

The study, which focused on adults enrolled with a large commercial insurer, found that:

• Between 2008 and 2016, visits to primary care physicians declined by 24.2%, and nearly half of adults didn’t visit one in any given year by the end of the time frame
• Groups with the largest declines were young adults, adults without chronic conditions, and those living in the lowest-income areas

Meanwhile, visits to alternative facilities like urgent care clinics increased by 46.9%

Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children recently released a report in their role as a principal partner with the Pre-K for PA Campaign, the third installment comparing Pennsylvania’s per-capita investments in pre-k. The Road to Success Includes High-Quality Pre-K shows states with similar political compositions and quality standards are making stronger per capita investments, putting their early learners on the road to success in school and in life at a faster pace than Pennsylvania. If Pennsylvania want to pave the way to success in adulthood for OUR early learners, we need to increase our investments in high-quality, publicly funded pre-k, because 56 percent of eligible children do not have access to this vital education.

The U.S. Surgeon General released a report on smoking cessation that reviews and updates evidence on the importance of quitting smoking. The report discusses the immediate and long-term health and economic benefits of smoking cessation at the individual and societal levels. The report also covers clinical and population-based interventions that have been shown to effectively increase smoking cessation.

Click here for more information.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published data finding that suicide among the U.S. working-age population (ages 16-64 years) was increasing during the time period studied.  The five major industry groups with suicide rates higher than the study population included 1) Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction; 2) Construction; 3) Other Services (e.g. automotive repair); 4) Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting; and 5) Transportation and Warehousing. Find more information here.

The report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines the potential for integrating social services into health care delivery and assesses current efforts.  To access a free PDF of the report, create an account with the National Academies Press or download as a guest. You can find it here.

Thomas Vaughn, PhD; Fred Ullrich, BA; Muska Nataliansyah, MPH and Keith J. Mueller, PhD

Advances in technology have made it easier to provide telemedicine services, but the actual value of telemedicine programs for health systems providing those services or for patients has not been firmly established. This paper from the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis explores organizational motivations of three large health systems for incorporating telemedicine patient care services.

Click to download a copy: Strategic Choice in Developing Telemedicine – Observations from Three Organizations

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RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
University of Iowa
College of Public Health
Department of Health Management and Policy
145 Riverside Drive, N200 – CPHB
Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone: (319) 384-3831
Fax: (319) 384-4371

Web site: www.public-health.uiowa.edu/rupri

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Conventional measures of innovation suggest that only big cities foster new ideas, but a more comprehensive measure developed at Penn State shows that innovation is widespread even in rural places not typically thought of as innovative. This “hidden” innovation brings economic benefits to businesses and communities, according to researchers, whose findings will help decision makers think in new ways about innovation and how they can support it.  Full story