Rural Health
News by Topic: Health disparities
Dec 10, 2025 - Describes a mental health awareness and crisis response training being used to fill gaps in mental healthcare access for rural communities. Notes health disparities for rural residents due to shortages of mental health workforce and resources.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Dec 8, 2025 - Discusses new research finding disparities in Alzheimer's-related outcomes for rural Marylanders due to more limited access to care compared to urban residents.
Source: Medical Xpress
Nov 28, 2025 - Offers analysis of population data between rural and urban Maine to highlight challenges projected for rural Maine communities. Discusses the impact of population shifts and aging residents on local economies, access to education, and access to healthcare.
Source: The Maine Monitor
Nov 24, 2025 - Describes transportation-related healthcare access challenges in rural Iosco County, Michigan, and the work of one community group to document those challenges. Highlights programs aiming to ease transportation barriers to healthcare access across Michigan.
Nov 20, 2025 - Discusses health disparities among rural healthcare provider shortages nationally and in Montana. Highlights 2 residency programs in Billings, Montana aiming to address the shortages of internal medicine and psychiatry providers. Describes how rural practice is integrated into the residencies as well as the benefits for both physician residents and rural communities.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Nov 19, 2025 - Describes rural health disparities in Tennessee and nationally. Highlights one Federally Qualified Health Center's prescription delivery program that also offers healthcare counseling and assistance with unmet social needs for rural older adults in Tennessee to address those disparities.
Source: America's Health Rankings News
Nov 18, 2025 - Highlights the work of various nonprofits in Ohio offering support to rural residents in need of human services, experiencing poverty, and with limited healthcare access. Describes disparities experienced by Appalachian Ohio.
Source: Soapbox Cincinnati
Nov 5, 2025 - Offers data showing rural and urban differences in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) incidence and factors contributing to those higher rates. Discusses smoking, occupational hazards, access to healthcare, and social determinants of health. Notes effective approaches for overcoming these contributors to COPD.
Source: Loma Linda University Health News
Oct 31, 2025 - The Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) is opening a new office in rural North Carolina. Services offered include primary care, women's services, and behavioral health. Discusses disparities in care between rural and urban communities in the area, in part due to workforce shortages, and the mission of MAHEC to train and retain healthcare professionals.
Source: WLOS
Oct 26, 2025 - Discusses the impact of the expansion of Medicaid dental benefits on the oral health of Missouri residents. Notes that areas with dental workforce shortages are less likely to feel the positive impact of increases in reimbursement rates.
Source: Kansas City Magazine

