Social Epidemiological Mediators of Rural and Urban Differences in Perceived Need for Cocaine Use Treatment.

Rural/urban disparities in cocaine use treatment are commonly attributed to variations in social epidemiological constructs, such as socioeconomic status and well-being, social capital and support, and discrimination, as well as health care attitudes and health beliefs. This study examined whether these factors mediate rural vs. urban disparities in perceived need for cocaine use treatment, a concept closely linked to treatment utilization.

Cervical Cancer Screening Rates Among Rural and Urban Females, From 2019 to 2022.

Importance: Little nationally representative research has examined Papanicolaou testing rates from before the pandemic in 2019 through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. Papanicolaou testing rates among rural females are a concern as they have historically had lower screening rates than their urban counterparts.

Objective: To examine the receipt of a Papanicolaou test in the past year among US females overall and females residing in rural and urban areas in 2019, 2020, and 2022.

Discussions of Cancer Survivorship Care Needs: Are There Rural Versus Urban Inequities?

Background: Rural cancer survivors may face greater challenges receiving survivorship care than urban cancer survivors.

Purpose: To test for rural versus urban inequities and identify other correlates of discussions about cancer survivorship care with healthcare professionals.

Methods: Data are from the 2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), which included a cancer survivorship supplement.

Primary Care Providers' Experiences Treating Opioid Use Disorder Using Telehealth in the Height of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed a rapid shift in healthcare delivery towards telehealth services, impacting patient care, including opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment. Regulatory changes eliminated the in-person evaluation requirement for buprenorphine treatment, encouraging adoption of telehealth. This study focused on understanding experiences of primary care providers in predominantly rural areas who used telehealth for OUD treatment during the pandemic.

Satisfaction With Care Among Cancer Survivors With Medicare Coverage: Are There Rural Versus Urban Inequities?

Introduction: Rural cancer survivors often face greater barriers to treatment, which may translate into worse satisfaction with health care.

Objective: To examine rural versus urban differences in satisfaction with health care among Medicare cancer survivors.

Methods: Data are from the 2020 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS).

Comparing the Demographic Characteristics of Victims of Sexual Assault in Rural Versus Urban Areas.

Background: In 2019, over 459,000 persons in the United States survived sexual assault, and 21%-26% sought medical treatment. Ideally, trained medical professionals who understand the unique physical and mental health needs of this patient population, such as forensic nurses, would provide care. Yet, the care that forensic nurses and other healthcare providers can offer to sexual violence/abuse survivors is hindered by the lack of understanding of the demographics of those who seek care.

Colorectal Cancer Screening in Rural and Urban Primary Care Practices Amid Implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act.

Purpose: The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) incentivized primary care practices to improve colorectal cancer screening rates. This study examined if colorectal screening rates improved among rural and urban primary care practices amid implementation of MACRA.

Methods: Colorectal cancer screening data are from a national registry of 139 primary care practices.

Ethics and Economics of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States.

The Covid-19 experience provides a natural experiment in personal and social ethics. Difficult decisions are routinely made to optimize lives and livelihoods. This commentary provides background and insight into the ethical and economic foundations underpinning dilemmas of this historic pandemic.

Practice Predictors of Buprenorphine Prescribing by Family Physicians.

Introduction: Both opioid use disorder and mortality for opioid overdoses are increasing. Family physicians (FPs) can treat opioid use disorder if they are waivered to prescribe buprenorphine. Our objective was to determine personal, practice, and community characteristics associated with FPs prescribing buprenorphine.

What Is Rural? Challenges And Implications Of Definitions That Inadequately Encompass Rural People And Places.

Monitoring and improving rural health is challenging because of varied and conflicting concepts of just what means. Federal, state, and local agencies and data resources use different definitions, which may lead to confusion and inequity in the distribution of resources depending on the definition used. This article highlights how inconsistent definitions of may lead to measurement bias in research, the interpretation of research outcomes, and differential eligibility for rural-focused grants and other funding.

Trends In Buprenorphine Prescribing By Physician Specialty.

Office-based visits involving a buprenorphine prescription increased significantly among primary care and specialist physicians from 2006 to 2014. The growing involvement of nonpsychiatry physicians in buprenorphine prescribing has the potential to provide better access to care for people with opioid use disorders.

Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Medicaid-covered Utilization of Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment.

Background: Buprenorphine has been proven effective in treating opioid use disorder. However, the high cost of buprenorphine and the limited prescribing capacity may restrict access to this effective medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.

Objective: To examine whether Medicaid expansion and physician prescribing capacity may have impacted buprenorphine utilization covered by Medicaid.

Number Of Medicaid Prescriptions Grew, Drug Spending Was Steady In Medicaid Expansion States.

Expansions of eligibility for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act may have increased the number of Medicaid drug prescriptions. However, the expansions did not drive Medicaid spending on prescription drugs overall in 2014.

Acceptability of HIV Testing Sites Among Rural and Urban African Americans Who Use Cocaine.

African Americans (AAs) who use cocaine in the Southern region of the U.S. have a relatively high risk of HIV and need for HIV testing.

The Criminal Justice Experience of African American Cocaine Users in Arkansas.

Background: African Americans are incarcerated at rates much higher than other racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

Objectives: We sought to qualitatively explore the relationships between ongoing involvement in the criminal justice system and continued drug use in a population of urban and rural African American cocaine users in a southern state.

Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted among African American cocaine users in Arkansas between 2010 and 2012.

The Role of Social Capital in African Americans' Attempts to Reduce and Quit Cocaine Use.

Background: Research examining substance users' recovery has focused on individual-level outcomes while paying limited attention to the contexts within which individuals are embedded, and the social processes involved in recovery.

Objectives: This paper examines factors underlying African American cocaine users' decisions to reduce or quit cocaine use and uses practice theory to understand how lifestyle changes and shifts in social networks facilitate access to the capital needed to change cocaine use patterns.

Methods: The study, an in-depth analysis of substance-use life history interviews carried out from 2010 to 2012, included 51 currently not-in-treatment African American cocaine users in the Arkansas Mississippi Delta region.