New Resources Identified in the Past 30 Days:
Added January 26, 2026
Federal Rural Definitions
Webinar recording featuring speakers from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) discussing how FORHP compiles information from various federal agencies to identify and define rural areas in the U.S. for rural health grant program eligibility. Highlights changes to rural areas, as identified by FORHP with their September 2025 data release.
Additional links: Audio Recording, Webinar Slides
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Webinar recording featuring speakers from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) discussing how FORHP compiles information from various federal agencies to identify and define rural areas in the U.S. for rural health grant program eligibility. Highlights changes to rural areas, as identified by FORHP with their September 2025 data release.
Additional links: Audio Recording, Webinar Slides
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Financial Analysis 2024, Rural Hospitals: An Annual Report on the Financial Health of Pennsylvania Rural Hospitals
Provides data on general acute care (GAC) hospitals located in rural counties, as defined by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania. Features financial statistics for GAC hospitals from 2021-2024, with breakdowns by urban and rural areas.
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council
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Provides data on general acute care (GAC) hospitals located in rural counties, as defined by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania. Features financial statistics for GAC hospitals from 2021-2024, with breakdowns by urban and rural areas.
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council
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Medicare Fee-for-Service Health Care Expenditures among Rural and Urban Beneficiaries During 2009-2019
Examines trends in Medicare Fee-for-Service spending among rural noncore, rural micropolitan, and urban beneficiaries, utilizing 2009-2019 CMS Medicare Geographic Variation Public Use files data. Details rural-urban differences in spending over time on per-patient hospital inpatient, hospital outpatient, physician services, and post-acute care, among other categories. Discusses implications for healthcare access and quality.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Theodoros Giannouchos, Xuanzi Qin, et al.
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
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Examines trends in Medicare Fee-for-Service spending among rural noncore, rural micropolitan, and urban beneficiaries, utilizing 2009-2019 CMS Medicare Geographic Variation Public Use files data. Details rural-urban differences in spending over time on per-patient hospital inpatient, hospital outpatient, physician services, and post-acute care, among other categories. Discusses implications for healthcare access and quality.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Theodoros Giannouchos, Xuanzi Qin, et al.
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
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Molecular and Socioeconomic Characteristics of Inflammatory Breast Cancer in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study
Examines associations between the incidence of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and demographic and clinical factors, including rurality, utilizing Carolina Breast Cancer Study data of 153 cases of IBC.
Author(s): Qichen Wang, Sarah C. Van Alsten, Xiaojia Ji, et al.
Citation: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 215(2), 61
Date: 01/2026
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Examines associations between the incidence of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and demographic and clinical factors, including rurality, utilizing Carolina Breast Cancer Study data of 153 cases of IBC.
Author(s): Qichen Wang, Sarah C. Van Alsten, Xiaojia Ji, et al.
Citation: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 215(2), 61
Date: 01/2026
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Rural Active Living: A Call to Action 2.0, 10-Year Review and Recommendations to Advance the Field
Examines the recommendations from the 2015 Rural Active Living: A Call to Action guidance. Utilizes feedback from the Physical Activity Policy Research and Evaluation Network Rural Active Living Workgroup, funded by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, to review the original 8 Rural Active Living Calls to Action. Discusses relevant literature and research related to active living best practices, social issues, COVID-19 impacts, collaboration, implementation science, and implications of rural health funding.
Author(s): M Renée Umstattd Meyer, Marilyn E Wende, Jessica Stroope, et al.
Citation: Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, 32(2), 197-213
Date: 11/2025
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Examines the recommendations from the 2015 Rural Active Living: A Call to Action guidance. Utilizes feedback from the Physical Activity Policy Research and Evaluation Network Rural Active Living Workgroup, funded by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, to review the original 8 Rural Active Living Calls to Action. Discusses relevant literature and research related to active living best practices, social issues, COVID-19 impacts, collaboration, implementation science, and implications of rural health funding.
Author(s): M Renée Umstattd Meyer, Marilyn E Wende, Jessica Stroope, et al.
Citation: Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, 32(2), 197-213
Date: 11/2025
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Strategies for Effective Alternate Care Sites in Rural Iowa
Discusses alternate care sites for rural Iowa during times of disaster impacting healthcare access. Uses a literature review and survey of 27 Iowa healthcare and county emergency managers to highlight areas of readiness and opportunity in rural disaster preparedness. Offers 3 recommendations based on study findings related to regional collaboration, proactively addressing staffing and resource constraints, and cross-sector partnerships.
Author(s): Lynn J. Royer
Citation: Pracademic Affairs, 6
Date: 01/2026
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Discusses alternate care sites for rural Iowa during times of disaster impacting healthcare access. Uses a literature review and survey of 27 Iowa healthcare and county emergency managers to highlight areas of readiness and opportunity in rural disaster preparedness. Offers 3 recommendations based on study findings related to regional collaboration, proactively addressing staffing and resource constraints, and cross-sector partnerships.
Author(s): Lynn J. Royer
Citation: Pracademic Affairs, 6
Date: 01/2026
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Update: The Expanding Maternity Care Desert in Pennsylvania
Provides an overview of labor and delivery services in rural Pennsylvania and implications of limited access to maternity care. Features county-level maps showing locations of Pennsylvania hospitals with labor and delivery units and areas that are a 20-minute drive from a labor and delivery unit, as of 2026.
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Provides an overview of labor and delivery services in rural Pennsylvania and implications of limited access to maternity care. Features county-level maps showing locations of Pennsylvania hospitals with labor and delivery units and areas that are a 20-minute drive from a labor and delivery unit, as of 2026.
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Added January 23, 2026
2025 Idaho Medical Education (UME) Plan
Outlines policy recommendations from the Idaho Undergraduate Medical Education Plan Working Group to address physician shortages across the state. Recommendations discuss existing and new partnerships, moving Idaho residents into and through the physician workforce pipeline, incentives for retention, and funding needs. Discusses rural throughout.
Date: 12/2025
Sponsoring organization: Idaho State Board of Education Undergraduate Medical Education Plan Working Group
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Outlines policy recommendations from the Idaho Undergraduate Medical Education Plan Working Group to address physician shortages across the state. Recommendations discuss existing and new partnerships, moving Idaho residents into and through the physician workforce pipeline, incentives for retention, and funding needs. Discusses rural throughout.
Date: 12/2025
Sponsoring organization: Idaho State Board of Education Undergraduate Medical Education Plan Working Group
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Compounding Hazards Posed by Wildfires, Flooding, and Resource Extraction: Assessing Multimedia Metal(loid) Exposures and Risk in Rural, Southwestern U.S. Populations
Examines the impact of weather events, resource extraction, and dust exposure on cancer risk in rural communities in Arizona. Utilizes a community-based study and data from multiple sampling sites to analyze child and adult exposure to hazardous elements.
Author(s): Zain Alabdain Alqattan, God'sgift N. Chukwuonye, Camille Tinerella, Miriam Jones, Mónica D. Ramírez-Andreotta
Citation: Environment International, 207, 110034
Date: 01/2026
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Examines the impact of weather events, resource extraction, and dust exposure on cancer risk in rural communities in Arizona. Utilizes a community-based study and data from multiple sampling sites to analyze child and adult exposure to hazardous elements.
Author(s): Zain Alabdain Alqattan, God'sgift N. Chukwuonye, Camille Tinerella, Miriam Jones, Mónica D. Ramírez-Andreotta
Citation: Environment International, 207, 110034
Date: 01/2026
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Medicare Hospice Use Patterns Among Patients With Alzheimer's Disease or Related Dementias Compared to Those With Other Terminal Diagnoses
Examines hospice use among Medicare enrollees with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) compared to Medicare hospice enrollees with other terminal diagnoses. Explores whether hospice characteristics, including rural status, are associated with hospice length of stay, visit frequency, and live discharge rates among Medicare patients with and without terminal and comorbid ADRD diagnoses.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Examines hospice use among Medicare enrollees with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) compared to Medicare hospice enrollees with other terminal diagnoses. Explores whether hospice characteristics, including rural status, are associated with hospice length of stay, visit frequency, and live discharge rates among Medicare patients with and without terminal and comorbid ADRD diagnoses.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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