Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Research on rural residence and access to drug abuse services: where are we and where do we go?

Borders TF, Booth BM. Research on rural residence and access to drug abuse services: where are we and where do we go? The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association. 2008 Apr 1; 23 Suppl:79-83.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

CONTEXT: Illicit drug use is common in rural areas, but very little research has investigated rural populations' access to drug abuse services. PURPOSE: To describe the current state of the scientific literature on access to drug abuse services in rural areas and suggest directions for future research. METHODS: We performed a literature review of published articles on rural drug abuse services and summarized the findings according to potential, realized, accommodating, and acceptable access. Relevant articles on rural access to medical, alcohol, and mental health care were selected to supplement the scarce literature specific to drug abuse. FINDINGS: A limited body of work indicates that rural populations have lower availability and utilize needed drug abuse services less frequently than their urban counterparts. Even less is known about the accommodation and acceptability of drug abuse programs serving rural populations. CONCLUSIONS: Research that investigates the existence and determinants of problems with access to drug abuse services is greatly needed to enable policy makers, drug treatment managers, and practitioners to better meet the needs of their rural clientele. As this field of inquiry advances, methodologies for constructing drug abuse service areas and measuring consumers' evaluations must be developed.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.