Rural Health
Research Gateway

Opioid Use Disorder and Treatment: Rural-Urban Comparisons

Rural Health Research Products Included in this Recap

  • Early-Career and Graduating Physicians More Likely to Prescribe Buprenorphine
    Journal Article
    Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
    Date: 01/2020
    Only a small percentage of people who need treatment for opioid use disorder receive it, including buprenorphine. This paper shows differences in rates of prescribing buprenorphine and intentions to prescribe buprenorphine between early- and mid-to-late career family physicians, based on a survey of physicians taking a certification examination.
  • Non-Medical Opioid Use Among Rural and Urban Pregnant Women, 2007-2014
    Policy Brief
    University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 08/2018
    This policy brief presents data on rural-urban differences in non-medical opioid use among pregnant women to inform policy, programmatic, and clinical efforts to address this crisis.
  • Opioid-Related Visits to Rural Emergency Departments
    Policy Brief
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 02/2021
    The purpose of this project was to compare rural and urban opioid-related emergency department visits. Data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample were used to examine rural and urban opioid-related visits over time and to compare the outcomes of these visits.
  • Overcoming Barriers to Prescribing Buprenorphine for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder: Recommendations From Rural Physicians
    Journal Article
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 10/2018
    Rural physicians with a Drug Enforcement Administration waiver to prescribe buprenorphine who were treating a higher than average number of opioid use disorder patients were interviewed about strategies and best practices for overcoming commonly cited barriers to incorporating and providing medication assisted treatment into their practices.
  • Partial Psychiatric Hospitalization Program Availability in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Hospitals Nationally
    Policy Brief
    Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
    Date: 12/2019
    Partial psychiatric hospitalization programs (PPHPs) are intended to reduce or avoid inpatient stays by providing intensive psychiatric services in outpatient settings. We provide national estimates of PPHP availability among nonmetropolitan and metropolitan hospitals and describe the hospital characteristics associated with the provision of PPHPs.
  • Practical Implications: Opioid-Affected Births to Rural Residents
    Policy Brief
    University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 09/2018
    This publication provides two physicians' reactions to research findings on rates of diagnosis of maternal opioid use disorder and infant neonatal abstinence syndrome at the time of childbirth for rural residents based on the type of hospital where the birth occurred.
  • Prescribing Practices of Rural Physicians Waivered to Prescribe Buprenorphine
    Journal Article
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 06/2018
    This study finds more than 60% of rural counties don't have a physician waivered to prescribe buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder.
  • Substance Use Among Rural and Urban Youth and Young Adults
    Policy Brief
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 11/2020
    This study uses national data to examine rural-urban differences in the rates of substance use among youth and young adults. Findings can help inform rural-specific prevention strategies and research targeting rural communities.