The Southern Rural Access Program and Alabama's Rural Health Leaders Pipeline: a partnership to develop needed minority health care professionals.

Rural Health Leaders Pipeline programs are intended to increase the number of youth interested in and pursuing health professions in rural communities. This paper presents 2 complementary approaches to Rural Health Leaders Pipeline programs. Two different organizations in Alabama recruit students from 18 specified counties.

Variations in rural AIDS epidemiology and service delivery models in the United States.

This article reviews AIDS surveillance data and the rural health literature to summarize what is known about the rural AIDS epidemic, characteristics of rural environments that affect HIV service delivery, and approaches that rural areas are using to address the health and support service needs of HIV-positive residents. During 1999, nonmetropolitan (non-MSA) adult/adolescent AIDS rates were highest in the South (11 per 100,000) and Northeast (9 per 100,000). The South had the highest non-MSA proportion of adult/adolescent AIDS cases (12%), followed by the North Central region (9%), the West (4%), and the Northeast (3%).

A pilot study of oncology staff perceptions of palliative care and psycho-oncology services in rural and community settings in Indiana.

Although there has been an increased interest in health care delivery for rural community populations, concerns remain regarding the lack of access to primary health care and specialty services (such as palliative care), particularly in rural areas that are medically underserved (MU). This survey was conducted to examine the perceptions of palliative care services in rural communities and toward identifying perceived barriers that interfere with accessing palliative care services. In conducting the study, personnel from various disciplines throughout the Community Cancer Care (CCC) network (the largest private provider of oncology services in Indiana) completed a survey that assessed their perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the available palliative care services in their communities.

Antibody binding regions on human nerve growth factor identified by homolog- and alanine-scanning mutagenesis.

The binding specificities of a panel of mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to human nerve growth factor (hNGF) were determined by epitope mapping using chimeric and point mutants of NGF. Subsequently, the MAbs were used to probe NGF structure-function relationships. Six MAbs, which recognize distinct or partially overlapping regions of hNGF, were evaluated for their ability to block the binding of hNGF to the TrkA and p75 NGF receptors in various in vitro assays, which included blocking of TrkA autophosphorylation and blocking of NGF-dependent survival of dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons.

A typological approach to the study of rural HIV service delivery networks.

Despite the rapid growth of AIDS cases in nonmetropolitan areas, little is known about the characteristics and needs of HIV-positive rural residents or how rural areas are responding to the epidemic. This paper proposes a typology for distinguishing among rural environments and examining variations in HIV service networks. The typology identifies three dimensions that have a major effect on the development of rural HIV service networks: degree of rurality, the prevalence of AIDS, and the epidemiological and demographic characteristics of the infected populations.

Rural mental health leaders' perceptions of stigma and community issues.

This paper provides a description of the attitudes of rural leaders toward mental health issues using data collected in two rural counties (one in Virginia and one in North Carolina). Study participants (N = 63) are individuals identified as leaders making a significant positive contribution to mental health issues in each county. While the counties were matched on a number of demographic characteristics, the counties had one difference believed important: one had a county mental health center located within the county boundary while the other had no in-county mental health center.

Cancer prevention strategies among California farmworkers: preliminary findings.

This study was conducted to identify barriers to cancer prevention and evaluate the effectiveness of a cancer prevention project to increase screening for cervical and breast cancer among Spanish-speaking farmworkers in California's Central Valley. Bilingual health educators met with farmworker communities near Merced and Modesto, CA, to determine barriers that prevented women from seeking screening for breast and cervical cancer. Using information from focus groups and health fairs, a targeted outreach protocol was developed that will eventually enroll 2,500 farmworkers in a cancer education and screening program.

Adequate access to posthospital home health services: differences between urban and rural areas.

The health care environment in rural areas changed dramatically in the 1980s. Policy-makers are concerned that these changes have reduced access to care among residents of rural areas. This study measures adequate access to Medicare home health services and determines whether it differs for urban and rural beneficiaries.