Researchers analyzed the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and found that estimates for prevalence of rural substance use were frequently higher than national and non-rural averages. This brief seeks to inform policies, strategies, and interventions that are tailored to rural communities, taking health-related differences and service gaps into account.
These findings underscore the importance of rural–urban data analysis and adequate rural representation in public health surveillance to better identify geographic variation, inform targeted policy and programmatic responses, and maximize community and population health. The findings come from JBS International, Inc., the technical assistance provider to grantees of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program.