Publications

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The Opioid Crisis in Rural and Small Town America
Shannon Monnat, Khary Rigg
June 19, 2018
Over the last two decades, opioid overdose deaths have increased over 400 percent, reaching 45,838 in 2016. Although the crisis is not disproportionately worse in rural than in urban America, opioid mortality rates have grown faster in rural areas, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest. Rural areas also face unique challenges in dealing with the crisis, including a smaller health care...
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Rural Adolescents Are More Likely Than Their Urban Peers to Abuse Prescription Painkillers
Shannon Monnat, Khary Rigg
October 22, 2015
U.S. media and popular culture historically portrayed drug abuse as an urban problem, but in recent years, there has been more media attention on rural drug issues. Part of this growing attention pertains to the growing epidemic of narcotic painkiller abuse in rural America. Although all areas of the country experienced increases in painkiller prescribing, abuse, and mortality over the past two...