The RTT Collaborative is excited to announce that we are hiring a part-time Associate Director!

Analyzes rural-urban disparities in mortality and hospital readmission among 9,325 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 from March 2020 to July 2022, with follow-up data through May 2023. Includes data on demographic and clinical factors associated with rural dwelling.

Presents findings from interviews with 40 parents and young adults in rural southwest Georgia on attitudes, knowledge, and preferences related to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake. Discusses challenges and opportunities related to transportation, knowledge, trust, and stigma.

Provides a comprehensive overview of mental health in the rural United States. Includes chapters focused on a rural perspective of mental health, the demographic profile of rural areas by race/ethnicity, substance abuse, mental health service delivery, workforce challenges and opportunities, comparative information about rural mental health outside the U.S., and the future of rural mental health in the U.S. -- Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education

Examines rural versus urban usage of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines by county. Provides data on first and second dose of vaccines, with data broken down by large central metro, large fringe metro, medium metro, small metro, micropolitan, or noncore location. Includes county-level maps showing Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech spatial usage and discusses geographic implications that impacted access to each vaccine.

Recording of a May 15, 2024, U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs hearing regarding rural veterans' access to healthcare and efforts to address challenges to care. Covers rural staffing and recruitment, limited access to broadband, distance to healthcare providers, and more. Features testimony from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health, the Great Plains Veterans Services Center, the Government Accountability Office, and Disabled American Veterans. -- Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate

Offers statistics for performance measures or output for fiscal year 2023. Features breakdowns including total patient encounters and telemedicine encounters; statistics on controlled diabetes, hypertension, and early pre-natal care; and screening for tobacco use, depression, and obesity. -- North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

Analyzes the persistence of the rural mortality penalty (RMP) related to melanoma cancer. Utilizes 2000-2019 SEER Research-Plus-17-Registry data to examine disease characteristics, incidence, and mortality rates, with breakdowns by race/ethnicity, income, and rural versus urban location.

Examines access to hospital facilities with maternity services in a rural Alabama county by measuring driving distance from maternal residence to birth hospital. Discusses the impact of maternity care deserts on rural residents.

Presents the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance May 16, 2024, hearing on rural healthcare. Discusses the financial vulnerability of rural hospitals, the rural healthcare workforce and graduate medical education (GME), access to maternal healthcare, health information technology and telehealth, and more. Features testimony from the Chartis Center for Rural Health; Grande Ronde Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital in Oregon; the Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural Graduate Medical Education; and the Rural Policy Research Institute. -- Senate Committee on Finance

Reports proceedings of a November 2023 workshop on serious illness care research. Includes content of presentations and discussions on lived experience of affected individuals, current and future state of the field, approaches to addressing research gaps, barriers and facilitators to health equity in research, and translation to practice. Pages 76-79 include discussion of rural health equity in palliative care. -- Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine