Medications for opioid use disorder in rural primary care practices: Patient and provider experiences.

Introduction: The opioid epidemic has exacted a significant toll in rural areas, yet adoption of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) lags. The Rural Access to Medication Assisted Treatment in Pennsylvania (RAMP) Project facilitated adoption of MOUD in rural primary care clinics. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the barriers and facilitators operating at multiple levels to access or provide MOUD in rural Pennsylvania.

Recruitment of population-based controls for ALS cases from the National ALS Registry.

In 2010, the United States Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) created the National ALS Registry (Registry) to examine the epidemiology of ALS and potential risk factors. We are currently recruiting population-based controls for an epidemiologic case-control study to examine ALS environmental risk factors using this Registry. To date, we have recruited 181 non-diseased, population-based controls for comparison to Registry cases ( = 280).

An Alternative Technique for Youth Risk Surveillance Outside of the School System.

Purpose: When school districts choose not to participate in adolescent health behavior surveys, tracking adolescent health indicators can be challenging. We conducted a countywide youth behavior survey outside of the school system. Our purpose is to describe alternative methods used for gathering these data reliably and ethically.

A Survey of Residents' Perceptions of the Effect of Large-Scale Economic Developments on Perceived Safety, Violence, and Economic Benefits.

Background: Emerging research highlights the promise of community- and policy-level strategies in preventing youth violence. Large-scale economic developments, such as sports and entertainment arenas and casinos, may improve the living conditions, economics, public health, and overall wellbeing of area residents and may influence rates of violence within communities.

Objective: To assess the effect of community economic development efforts on neighborhood residents' perceptions on violence, safety, and economic benefits.