The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Bureau of Family Health (BFH) conducted its Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant (MCHSBG) Five-Year Needs and Capacity Assessment. This assessment helped the BFH and the PA Title V program to evaluate the health status of women and mothers, infants, children, adolescents and children and youth with special health care needs in Pennsylvania, engage stakeholders and service recipients, and identify priorities that will inform Title V-funded work over the next funding cycle from 2021 to 2025. A report describing the planning, implementation, and results of the 2020 Title V Five-Year Needs and Capacity Assessment is now available.
New Rural Hot Spots are ICU Bed Deserts, Study Finds
More than half of rural low-income communities in the United States have zero ICU beds, so many hospitals are having to transfer patients to wealthier urban facilities. Using Medicare data, Health Affairs researchers found that nearly 49 percent of all low-income areas did not have ICU beds. This gap exists across rural and urban settings, but it is far worse in rural America. Many hospitals have either converted regular beds to ICU beds or have had to rely on transfers to facilities with more resources. Poorer access to care and higher percentages of chronic health conditions increases the risk posed by COVID-19 in rural America. During a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) warned that problems with supply chains and disparities in access to care in rural areas could further exacerbate racial disparities as well.
New! NOSORH Issue Brief Defining Rural Population Health and Health Equity
New NOSORH issue brief examines the definitions of population health and health equity for rural stakeholders, and offers examples of successful rural strategies.
In recent years, the terms “population health” and “health equity” have often been used interchangeably by some rural stakeholders. This issue brief aims to examine the differences between the two terms, and offers successful examples of rural population health and health equity activities by State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) and their partners. The brief also offers suggestions on how rural health stakeholders can get started in population health and health equity efforts at the state and local levels.
With support from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, NOSORH developed this issue brief for SORH and other rural health stakeholders as a means of ensuring unified definitions and approaches to population health and health equity by rural stakeholders.
Looking for more?
Check out the Resources by Topic and Position Statements sections of the NOSORH website.
Journal of Appalachian Health: Volume 2, Issue 3 Available NOW!
Fiscal Challenges and Anticipated Changes to Kentucky’s Population Health System
Jeffrey Howard, University of Louisville
Tim Thomas, Appalachian Regional Commission
Appalachian Regional Commission Recovery Ecosystem Background and Overview
Kostas Skordas & Andrew Howard, Appalachian Regional Commission
Research Articles
Rachel Hogg-Graham, Angela Carman, Glen P. Mays, and Pierre Martin Dominique Zephyr
Parental Impact on Child Physical Activity and Sedentary Time in Appalachian North Carolina
Allison V. Farrell, Richard W. Christiana, Rebecca A. Battista, and J. Joy James
Julie P. Marcinek, Alek Sripipatana, and Sue C. Lin
Consumption of Added Sugars by Rural Residents of Southwest Virginia
Maryam Yuhas, Valisa Hedrick, and Jamie Zoellner
Review & Special Articles
Preface: Experiencing Cancer in Appalachian Kentucky
Michele Ellison and Robin C. Vanderpool
Experiencing Cancer in Appalachian Kentucky
Melanie McComsey, David Ahern, Robin C. Vanderpool, Timothy W. Mullett, Ming-Yuan Chih, Meghan Johnson, Michele Ellison, Karen Onyeije, Bradford W. Hesse, and Eliah Aronoff-Spencer
Responding to Appalachian Voices: Steps in Developing Substance-Use Recovery Ecosystems
Bruce Behringer
Bruce Behringer
New Brief: Boosting Oral Health Care in Rural Communities
The National Conference of State Legislators released a legislative brief on “Boosting Oral Health Care in Rural Communities.” The brief visits topics such as teledentistry, mobile dental services, and workforce efforts. Rural communities face a range of barriers to accessing oral health care such as long distances to providers, lack of transportation, lack of insurance, and a shortage of oral health providers.
Healthy People Law and Health Policy Oral Health Report Released
The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) released “Using Law and Policy to Promote the Use of Oral Health Services in the United States.” This is the fifth report in a series highlighting the practical application of law and policy to improve health across the nation. The report presents evidence-based policy solutions that community leaders, government officials, public health professionals, health care providers, lawyers, and social service providers can use in their communities.
Latest National Rankings for Child Well-Being Show Pennsylvania at 20th
The 2020 edition of the KIDS COUNT® Data Book, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, shows Pennsylvania ranks 20th for overall child well-being.
The report uses 16 indicators across four domains to rank each state. Pennsylvania now ranks 26th in the family and community domain, 23rd in economic well-being, 19th in health, and 7th in education.
Learn more about Pennsylvania’s rankings or get additional information on the Data Book here.
Healthy People 2020: Using Law and Policy to Promote the Use of Oral Health Services in the United States
Good oral health is essential to overall health and well-being, but oral health problems are common. More than 4 in 5 people have had at least one cavity by age 34, and more than 2 in 5 adults have had mouth pain in the past year.
And yet less than half of the population uses the oral health care system. Many common oral health problems like tooth decay, gum disease, and jaw disorders are preventable with regular oral care. But many people who need this care face barriers, which means they aren’t able to get the care they need.
This is a summary of the report, Oral Health: The Role of Law and Policy in Increasing the Use of Oral Health Services, which is the fifth in a series of reports that highlights the practical application of law and policy to improve health across the Nation. Each report also has success stories, or Bright Spots, that show how communities use laws and policies to meet their health goals and achieve Healthy People Oral Health targets.
This report presents evidence-based and promising law and policy solutions that community and tribal leaders, government officials, public health professionals, health care providers, lawyers, and social service providers can use in their own communities. These solutions focus on improving oral health care financing, strengthening the oral health workforce, and removing barriers to using oral health care services. Many of these solutions align with the Heathy People objective to increase the number of people who use the oral health care system.
New Rural Policy Brief Published on Telepharmacy Rules and Statutes
A new rural policy brief is available from the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis:
Telepharmacy Rules and Statutes: A 3-Year Update for all 50 States
Jason Semprini, MPP; Fred Ullrich, BA; Keith Mueller, PhD
This policy brief analyzed administrative rules and legislative statutes governing each state’s pharmacy practice. Key features of telepharmacy regulations were investigated for comparative analysis. Twenty-one states currently authorize retail telepharmacy, but between these states the regulatory activity varies considerably.
Please click here to read the brief.
Journal of Appalachian Health Is Now On the Directory of Open Access Journals!
The Journal of Appalachian Health has been added to the Directory of Open Access Journals.
DOAJ is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals. DOAJ is independent; All funding is via donations. All DOAJ services are free of charge including being indexed in DOAJ. All data is freely available.
DOAJ operates an education and outreach program across the globe, focusing on improving the quality of applications submitted (Source: DOAJ, 2020).