Statistical Brief Discusses Availability of Medical Services in Rural and Nonrural Areas

Today’s Headlines:

• Statistical Brief Discusses Availability of Medical Services in Rural and Nonrural Areas.
• Webinar Explores Usability and Engagement in Digital Healthcare Tools.
• Delivering Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Primary Care: Environmental Scan.
• Targeted Frailty Screening in HIV Care Improves Accuracy, Eases Clinical Burden.
• Register for Upcoming Webinars.
• AHRQ Stats: Proportion of Children Treated for Autism Spectrum Disorder.  
• New Research and Evidence.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

Statistical Brief Discusses Availability of Medical Services in Rural and Nonrural Areas

In 2021, AHRQ’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) asked adults in rural and nonrural areas to describe medical care availability in their neighborhoods. About 17.7 percent of those in nonmetropolitan areas and just 8.2 percent of those in metropolitan areas considered their access to care to be only fair or poor. Nearly one in five adults in only fair or poor health considered their healthcare access to be limited, including nearly 43 percent of those living in small rural areas. Check out this new statistical brief and explore how reports of limited healthcare access also varied by insurance status and other characteristics.

Webinar Explores Usability and Engagement in Digital Healthcare Tools

Through AHRQ’s Digital Healthcare Research grants, researchers are developing and testing tools that equip people to manage their health more effectively. At the AHRQ National Webinar on July 17—attended by more than 800 people—two grantees presented the details of their ongoing studies designed to promote behavior change through patient-centered design and real-world usability.

• May May Leung, Ph.D., discussed “Game On!”—a digital comic tool designed to combat childhood obesity through interactive nutrition education and storytelling. In usability testing, her team achieved strong engagement by offering flexible data collection and ample tech support. “We assign a specific researcher to each child-parent dyad so that they continue to build rapport and connection throughout the study,” she explained.
• David Dorr, M.D., M.S., shared his team’s work on a clinical decision support tool integrated with the electronic health record and patient portal. This tool is designed to encourage patients with hypertension to consistently monitor their blood pressure without causing undue stress. “It’s important to have a tool that is understandable to the patient and doesn’t cause them to worry about their blood pressure,” Dr. Dorr said. 

Access the Division of Digital Healthcare Research’s National Webinars page for the webinar recording and for more details on upcoming events and on-demand recordings of past webinars. You can also explore other digital healthcare research projects on the division’s AHRQ-Funded Projects page. 

Delivering Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Primary Care: Environmental Scan

A new environmental scan from the AHRQ Academy for Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care offers a comprehensive look at current trends, challenges, and innovations in delivering medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in primary care settings. Synthesizing the results of an exhaustive literature review and in-depth key informant interviews, this report explores major policy changes, the rise of telehealth, emerging treatment models like low-threshold care, the importance of stigma reduction, and the unique needs of high-risk populations, including pregnant women and formerly incarcerated individuals. This is an essential resource for anyone looking to understand the current climate of MOUD treatment in primary care settings. It also serves as the foundation for the next generation of the AHRQ Academy MOUD Playbook—a practical guide to delivering effective, evidence-based care for opioid use disorder in primary care settings—that is currently in production. Access the environmental scan (PDF, 815 KB). 

Targeted Frailty Screening in HIV Care Improves Accuracy, Eases Clinical Burden

An AHRQ-funded study in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome suggests that using a simple, targeted approach to screen for frailty among people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) could reduce clinic burden while maintaining high accuracy. Frailty—a condition marked by fatigue, weight loss, and reduced physical function—can raise the risk of poor health outcomes. Researchers analyzed data from 9,592 people with HIV across six U.S. sites and found that 11 percent were frail. While screening everyone over age 50 cut workload in half, it identified only 55 to 58 percent of frail patients. In contrast, screening based on a combination of age, gender, and depression symptoms identified 89 percent of frail patients while limiting screening to 43 percent of the population. Though more complex than age-only methods, these multifactor approaches offer a balanced path forward for HIV clinics seeking to integrate frailty screening into routine care.

Register for Upcoming Webinars

• AHRQ Safety Program for HAI Prevention: CAUTI Informational Webinars:
  • August 13, 2:30–3 p.m. ET.
  • August 28, 1:30–2 p.m. ET.
  • September 5, 11:30 a.m.–12 p.m. ET.
  • September 12, 11:30 a.m.–12 p.m. ET.
• August 14, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. ET: Overview of Two MEPS Components: Insurance and Household.
• September 9, 1–2 p.m. ET: Patient Safety in Medical Offices: Using SOPS Tools To Drive Improvement.

AHRQ Stats: Proportion of Children Treated for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Overall, 1.2 percent of children aged 3 to 17 received treatment for autism spectrum disorder between 2018 and 2022. The proportion of boys treated was 1.9 percent, nearly three times the 0.6 percent of girls who received treatment. (Source: AHRQ Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #565, Treatment and Health Expenditures Among Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2018–2022)

New Research and Evidence

• Systematic Review: Living Systematic Review on Cannabis and Other Plant-Based Treatments for Chronic Pain: 2025 Update.
• Systematic Review (draft open for comment through August 15): Medical Care for Adults With Down Syndrome.
• Systematic Review (draft open for comment through August 29): Primary Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer.
• Systematic Review (draft open for comment through September 2): Diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults.

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Evaluation of dietary protein and amino acid requirements: a systematic review. Burstad KM, Lamina T, Erickson A, et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2025 Jul;122(1):285-305. Epub 2025 Jun 2. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Evolution of clinical health information exchanges to population health resources: a case study of the Indiana network for patient care. Williams KS, Rahurkar S, Grannis SJ, et al. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2025 Feb 24;25(1):97. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Geographic clusters in sepsis hospital mortality and the role of targeted regionalization. Mohr NM, Tang Y, Gaieski DF, et al. Crit Care Med 2025 Jul;53(7):e1365-e76. Epub 2025 Apr 24. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

The relationship between discharge location and cardiac rehabilitation use after cardiac surgery. Bauer TM, Fliegner M, Hou H, et al. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2025 May;169(5):1513-21.e6. Epub 2024 Mar 22. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

How specialized are special needs plans? Evidence from provider networks. McCormack G, Wu R, Meiselbach M. Med Care Res Rev 2025 Feb;82(1):58-67. Epub 2024 Nov 19. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Using deep learning for estimation of time-since-injury in pediatric accidental fractures. Brink FW, Adler B, Bambach S, et al. Pediatr Radiol 2025 May;55(6):1257-69. Epub 2025 Apr 22. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

The spillover effects of Medicare's comprehensive care for joint replacement (CJR) model in California. Kim N, Jacobson M. PLoS One 2025 Apr 17;20(4):e0319582. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

"There has to be more caring": patient and care partner experiences of the disclosure of amyloid-β PET scan results. Couch E, Zhang W, Belanger E, et al. Aging Ment Health 2025 Jan;29(1):112-20. Epub 2024 Jun 26. Access the abstract on PubMed®.