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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Statistics and data

Dec 30, 2025 - Notice from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) seeking comments on proposed revisions to an information collection titled "Medical Expenditures Panel Survey—Household Component, OMB No. 0935-0118." Proposed changes include revising the wording of 24 questions for clarity and to improve the response rate; replacing two exercise items on the 2022 MEPS Preventive Care Self-Administered Questionnaire (PSAQ) with five new items for exercise and strength training; adding questions to the PSAQ about use of sleep medication, trouble getting to sleep, screen time, use of wearable devices, self-assessed diet quality, fruit and vegetable consumption, meals eaten away from home, former smoking, and weight loss attempt; and more. Comments are due by March 2, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Dec 30, 2025 - Notice from the U.S. Census Bureau allowing an additional 30 days for comments on the July 30, 2025, notice regarding the proposed extension of an information collection titled "Generic Clearance for Questionnaire Pretesting Research." The clearance will be used to conduct pretesting of decennial, demographic, and economic census and survey questionnaires prior to fielding them. Comments are due within 30 days of this notice.
Source: Federal Register
Dec 30, 2025 - Summarizes discussions between tribal leaders and the Indian Health Service (IHS) regarding impacts of proposed organizational changes in IHS. Topics discussed include protecting tribal participation at IHS, tribal sovereignty and data protection, workforce, access, and more.
Source: The Office of President Buu Van Nygren, The Navajo Nation
Dec 19, 2025 - Notice from the U.S. Census Bureau seeking comments on the extension of forms related to the American Community Survey (ACS) and Puerto Rico Community Survey. Comments are due by February 17, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Dec 16, 2025 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on an information collection titled "Medicare Enrollment Application for Physician and Non-Physician Practitioners." The Form CMS-855I is the enrollment application submitted by physicians and non-physician practitioners to ensure the applicant has the necessary credentials to provide the healthcare services for which they intend to bill Medicare. Comments are due by February 17, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Dec 16, 2025 - Highlights the Baseline Survey 2024 from the Regional Rural Development Centers, a collection of datasets exploring topics including household, business, and community well-being to better understand challenges faced by rural and urban communities. The survey included 18,596 respondents.
Source: North Central Regional Center for Rural Development
Dec 10, 2025 - Notice from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) seeking comments on updates to the Uniform Data System (UDS) for performance year 2026. Updates include changes to patient-level reporting and tables on selected diagnoses and services rendered, quality of care measures, health outcomes, patient service revenue, and more. Comments are due by February 9, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Dec 9, 2025 - Describes an innovation that could offer small rural wastewater facilities an affordable way to conduct wastewater sampling for public health purposes. Notes the traditional testing equipment is expensive and often out of reach for rural facilities.
Source: Louisiana Illuminator
Dec 1, 2025 - Offers tips for avoiding grain bin auger incidents, noting that injuries peak between January and June. Explores data showing risk factors for injury related to activity and age.
Source: Indiana Prairie Farmer
Dec 1, 2025 - Discusses a call from Texas researchers to investigate outcomes related to hospitals changing to Rural Emergency Hospitals (REH). Describes the goals and rules of the REH program as well as what the loss of inpatient care means for both rural and urban communities in Texas and nationally.
Source: KERA News