The Role of Rural Hospitals in Addressing Opioid and Other Substance Use Problems

Webinar presentation to the Small Rural Hospital Transition project addressing issues of rural opioid and other substance use issues, focusing on the role of rural hospitals, and the importance of community engagement. Component parts of an effective opioid/substance use system of care include prevention, treatment, and recovery. Models must be adapted to the geographic, resource, and cultural realities of rural areas. Examples of strategies are provided

Strategies to Combat Opioid Use in Rural Communities

Webinar presentation discussing Opioid use across rural settings Drivers of rural opioid use Burden of opioid use in rural communities Evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies to address rural opioid us

Rural America: A look beyond the images

The issues faced by patients and providers in rural health care differ greatly from those of urban counterparts. They also differ across rural communities. Understanding these differences, and the differences among rural populations across America, is critical to providing health services to rural Americans, who are often impeded by economic factors, cultural and social differences, educational shortcomings and isolation in their efforts to lead normal, healthy lives. The challenges provide opportunities for Catholic health care to make a difference in the lives and health of some of the nation\u27s most vulnerable citizens

Prevention of Drug Use and Treatment of Drug Use Disorders in Rural Settings

This Guide on Prevention of Drug Use and Treatment of Drug Use Disorders in Rural Settings was prepared by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Drug Prevention and Health Branch (DHB), in the context of the global project Treatnet II: OFID-UNODC Programme to prevent HIV/AIDS through Treatnet Phase II, with the aim of providing an awareness-raising tool and guidance for policymakers, public health officials, local authorities and other stakeholders in dealing with substance use issues in rural settings in their respective countries. This Guide will serve as an awareness-raising tool and guidance for policymakers, public health officials, local authorities and other stakeholders in dealing with substance use issues in rural settings in their respective countries. It will “set the stage” for the identification, assessment, planning and implementation of both prevention interventions and policies, as well as interventions targeting rural drug users, by: Describing substance use problems in rural settings and factors contributing to them. Identifying tools that can be used to assess the scope of rural substance use in their countries. Describing evidence-based prevention, treatment and recovery strategies that can be implemented in rural areas. Providing examples of successful promising and evidence-based strategies implemented in diverse rural areas worldwide. This Guide is intended to be shared widely with policymakers and other stakeholders concerned with the problems of substance use in rural settings. It provides an understanding of several key economic and social disparities driving rural substance use and the barriers to treatment experienced by rural people with substance use disorders

Well-Being of Elderly Women: Rural-Urban Differences

Using a stress-coping theoretical framework, this path analytic study examined the effects of hardiness, self-esteem, social support, and stress on coping, service utilization, and well-being of elderly women. Fifty-five rural and fifty-five urban females living in the community comprised the sample whose mean age was 75 years. The overall level of well-being of these women was high. Hardiness was associated with greater social support and well-being. Self-esteem was related to lower stress. Hardiness and self-esteem were also associated with decreased use of emotion-focused coping. Stress had a positive relationship with service utilization and a negative relationship with well-being. Problem-focused coping was positively associated with well-being. The causal model applied to each subgroup showed a higher number of relationships among selected variables in the urban sample as compared to the rural sample. In both samples a lower level of well-being was associated with greater stress. The urban sample also reported significantly more stress and utilized more services while the rural sample reported a significantly greater level of well-being. The results of the study imply that psychosocial factors contribute to the well-being of elderly women and that there are some differences between urban and rural women. Nurses need to reconceptualize their practice when working with elderly in the community. A psychosocial approach is at least as important as the medical approach in helping people adjust to their functional limitations. Community health nurses must place more emphasis on those factors which help aged people to remain as independent as possible in their advanced years

Maine Barriers to Integration Study: The view from Maine on the barriers to integrated care and recommendations for moving forward

Following up on the Environmental Scan report (http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/Publications/rural/Barriers-to-Integration-Environmental-Scan.pdf), the authors interviewed representatives from Maine’s business community, payers, purchasers, professional associations, state legislators, advocacy organizations, state government, and provider organizations. The interviews provided a context to understand the barriers to integration in Maine and develop recommendations to overcome them. Our Final Report presents key findings from the study, recommendations for addressing barriers, and next steps for moving forward. This study recognizes the need for integration of behavioral and physical health services in all settings. Although most discussions of integration focus on the development of behavioral health services in primary care settings, this study acknowledges the challenges faced by individuals with chronic and/or severe behavioral health problems in obtaining vital physical and primary health care

Maine Barriers to Integration Study: Environmental Scan

Recognizing that our health care system lacks organization, integration, and coordination, the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) has adopted the promotion of patient- and family-centered care as a long-term funding priority. With the goals of encouraging patients to take an active role in their care and promoting integration of primary and specialty care with mental and behavioral health, dental care, and other services, MeHAF has funded several health care initiatives to improve the health of individuals and to improve the quality and costeffectiveness of health care. The Maine Barriers to Integration Study is one of these initiatives. MeHAF funded the Muskie School to identify barriers to integration of behavioral and physical health services and potential solutions to overcoming these barriers. This paper reports on the first phase of the study, which included an extensive literature review; an analysis of different approaches and models to integration; and a review of integration initiatives in Maine, other states, and Canada. Results from interviews and focus groups with Maine stakeholder organizations are also included