New Resources Identified in the Past 30 Days:

Rural-Urban Differences in Barriers to Care and Utilization of Preventive Care Among Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries
Discusses the differences in barriers to care and preventive care utilization for older adults enrolled in traditional Medicare versus Medicare Advantage and makes a rural-urban comparison. Explores barriers to care, such as quality of care and out-of-pocket costs, as well as care utilization, such as regular vaccinations, cancer screenings, and cholesterol tests, among others.
Author(s): Gawain J. Williams, Dan M. Shane, Whitney E. Zahnd, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Severe Maternal Morbidity and Mortality After Delivery Hospitalization Among Rural Residents Bypassing Local Care for Urban Hospitals
Examines severe maternal morbidity and mortality (SMMM) when labor and delivery patients bypass rural, local hospitals to give birth at urban hospitals. Analyzes 235,375 rural versus urban births in South Carolina and associated 1-year postpartum follow-up visit data for rates of SMMM.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Haoyuan Gao, Jihong Liu, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(11), e2544522
Date: 11/2025
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Urban-Rural Disparities in Spatiotemporal Accessibility of Pharmacy Care: A Case Study of Vermont, USA
Examines geographic access to pharmacy care in Vermont. Assesses spatiotemporal accessibility by analyzing pharmacy locations, hours of operation, and staffing levels according to county as well as metro, micro, or rural location.
Author(s): Samuel Roubin, Joseph Holler, Peter Kedron
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 25, 1484
Date: 11/2025
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Alabama: 113 Causes of Death by County of Residence, Race, and Sex, 2023
County-by-county data on cause of death in Alabama in 2023. Includes totals and rates, and makes comparisons by race and sex.
Date: 2025
Sponsoring organization: Alabama Public Health
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Associations of Social Deprivation and Oncology Physician Network Vulnerability With Acute Care Utilization in the SEER-Medicare Population
Discusses the socioeconomic factors that correlate with acute care utilization among cancer patients, as well as the effect of regional specialist scarcity. Draws from Medicare data on patients with breast, lung, or colorectal cancer who have visited emergency departments or had non-elective hospitalizations and explores correlating social and regional factors, such as sex, rurality, social deprivation index score, and proximity to an oncology physician, among others.
Author(s): Ashlee A. Korsberg, Gabriel A. Brooks, A. James O'Malley, et al.
Citation: Health Services Research, e70070
Date: 11/2025
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Benzodiazepine Use Among Older Adults: Any Use and Concurrent Use With Opioids
Statistical brief examining rates of prescription benzodiazepine use by demographic group, insurance type, and health status, using 2021-2022 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component (MEPS-HC) data. See Figure 6 for metro-nonmetro comparison data on benzodiazepine use and concurrent benzodiazepine-opioid use.
Author(s): Salam Abdus, G. Edward Miller
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Chronic Health Conditions and Health Care Affordability Issues among U.S. Rural and Urban Adults
Analyzes associations between chronic health conditions and likelihood of experiencing healthcare affordability issues among rural and urban populations, utilizing 2022 National Health Interview Survey data. Examines rural and urban prevalence of individual chronic conditions, chronic condition multimorbidity, problems paying medical bills, and inability to pay medical bills.
Author(s): Ingrid Jacobson, Alexis Swendener, Hannah MacDougall, Carrie Henning-Smith
Citation: Journal of Multimorbidity and Comorbidity, 15
Date: 11/2025
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Creating a Culture of Safety: A Rural School's Story
Discusses educational issues such as mental health concerns, absenteeism, and disciplinary problems and ways to address them. Profiles the rural Silver Creek Central School District (SCCSD) in New York and their strategies to create belonging, improve mental health and community support, and provide behavioral interventions.
Author(s): Melissa Rivers, Katie Ralston
Citation: The Rural Educator, 46(6), 41-45
Date: 2025
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Funding Rural Health: The Role and Reach of Federal Support
A series of briefs and spotlights focused on how the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) supports population health in rural Kansas and the rural United States. Focuses on FORHP funding processes and organizational structure, distribution of funds, the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, the Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program, and Rural Communities Opioid Response Program.
Author(s): Shelby C. Rowell, Wyatt J. Beckman, Viktoria Sterkhova
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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A Lifeline for Rural Communities: Sutter Health's Bold Behavioral Health Access Expansion
A conversation with Dan Peterson of Sutter Health's Behavioral Health Services and Matthew White of the Behavioral Health Service Line that focuses on behavioral health access in rural areas of northern California. Discusses utilization of crisis stabilization units, clinic investments, and virtual psychiatry.
Author(s): Tom Haederle, Rebecca Chickey, Dan Peterson, Matthew White
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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