Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Hearing Health Healthcare Disparities In Appalachia, Matthew L. Bush

Journal of Appalachian Health

Hearing loss is a global public health issue with disproportionate negative impacts on those who live in rural regions, such as Appalachia. This commentary provides an overview of hearing health and healthcare disparities in rural regions along with discussion of the significance of recent research findings which highlight the incidence of hearing loss and the shortage of hearing specialists in Appalachia.

The Importance Of Time, Place, And Person: Applying Elementary Epidemiology To Covid-19 Outcomes In Rural Appalachia, Linda Alexander, F. Douglas Scutchfield Md

Journal of Appalachian Health

Since the 1800s this traditional triad of descriptive epidemiology has allowed for effective interventions to deal with epidemics. A focus on time, place, and person also provides a critical framework for interventions in controlling the epidemic by focusing on those populations with the highest risk for disease.

Emergence Of Covid-19 And Patterns Of Early Transmission In An Appalachian Sub-Region, Abbey K. Mann, Timothy A. Joyner, Ingrid E. Luffman, Megan Quinn, William Tollefson, Ashley Frazier

Journal of Appalachian Health

Background: In mid-March 2020, very few cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in the Central Blue Ridge Region, an area in Appalachia that includes 47 jurisdictions across northeast Tennessee, western North Carolina, and southwest Virginia. Authors described the emergence of cases and outbreaks in the region between March 18 and June 11, 2020.

Methods: Data were collected from the health department websites of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia beginning in mid-March for an ongoing set of COVID-19 monitoring projects, including a newsletter for local healthcare providers and a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) dashboard. In Fall 2020, using these databases, authors …

Perceived Ability To Treat Opioid Use Disorder In West Virginia, A. Brianna Sheppard, Jonathan C. Young, Steve M. Davis, Garrett E. Moran

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is an evidence-based therapy for opioid use disorder (OUD) that has not been fully implemented in rural areas due to patient, provider, and logistical barriers. Limited information is available on provider perceptions of barriers to MAT in rural Central Appalachia which has very high rates of OUD compared to the rest the United States.

Purpose: Determine perceived barriers for potential prescribers to using MAT, including buprenorphine, as part of treatment for OUD in West Virginia.

Methods: A 30-question, anonymous survey was sent to physicians, physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses using an online link. Link …

Loss Of Obstetric Services In Rural Appalachia: A Qualitative Study Of Community Perceptions, Caroline R. Efird, David Dry, Rachel F. Seidman

Journal of Appalachian Health

Background: As rural hospitals across the United States increasingly downsize or close, the availability of inpatient obstetric services continues to decline in rural areas. In rural Appalachia, the termination of obstetric services threatens to exacerbate the existing risk of adverse birth outcomes for women and infants, yet less is known about how the cessation of these services affects the broader community.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explain how the loss of local obstetric services affects perceptions of healthcare among multi-generational residents of a remote, rural Appalachian community in western North Carolina.

Methods: An interdisciplinary team of researchers …