Rural-Urban Differences in Workers' Access to Paid Sick Leave.

Paid sick leave (PSL) is associated with health care access and health outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of PSL as a public health strategy, yet PSL is not guaranteed in the United States. Rural workers may have more limited PSL, but research on rural PSL has been limited.

Engaging At-Risk Rural Residents in Secondary Lung Cancer Prevention.

Introduction: Rural residents are at elevated risk for lung cancer and related mortality, yet limited research has explored their perspectives on cancer risk or prevention options, including tobacco treatment and lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT). This qualitative study examined attitudes and beliefs among rural adults who reported either current or former tobacco use, as well as disengagement from the health care system.

Methods: We conducted 6 focus groups with rural Maine residents at risk for lung cancer based on age and smoking history (n = 50).

Acuity Differences Among Newly Admitted Older Residents in Rural and Urban Nursing Homes.

Background And Objectives: Our primary objective was to assess rural-urban acuity differences among newly admitted older nursing home residents.

Research Design And Methods: Data included the 2015 Minimum Data Set v3.0, the Area Health Resources File, the Provider of Services File, and Rural-Urban Commuting Area codes.

Developing Program Performance Measures for Rural Emergency Medical Services.

Background: The development of measures to monitor and evaluate the performance and quality of emergency medical services (EMS) systems has been a focus of attention for many years. The Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program), established by Congress in 1997, provides grants to states to implement initiatives to strengthen rural healthcare delivery systems, including better integration of EMS into those systems of care.

Objective: Building on national efforts to develop EMS performance measures, we sought to identify measures relevant to the rural communities and hospitals supported by the Flex Program.

Understanding the Business Case for Telemental Health in Rural Communities.

Telemental health has been promoted to address long-standing access barriers to rural mental health care, including low supply and long travel distances. Examples of rural telemental health programs are common; there is a less clear picture of how widely implemented these programs are, their organization, staffing, and services. There is also a need to understand the business case for these programs and assess whether and how they might realize their promise.