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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Chronic respiratory conditions

Wildfire Smoke as an Occupational Risk Factor: Clinician's Guide
Report discusses the health concerns associated with wildfire smoke exposure for farmworkers, and other outdoor workers. Highlights state-level air quality policies for workers in several western states and outlines best practices for clinicians.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Farmworker Justice Fund, Inc., Migrant Clinicians Network
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Disparities in Allergy and Asthma Prevalence among Schoolteachers
Examines prevalence of allergic and respiratory symptoms among 398 schoolteachers in Massachusetts. Includes comparisons between teachers in rural, suburban, and urban schools for health behaviors and factors associated with adverse breathing symptoms, including headache, sleep apnea, food allergy, nighttime awakening, sore throat, and more.
Author(s): Hana B. Ruran, Briana L. Mallouh, Lisa M. Bartnikas, Wanda Phipatanakul, Abhinav Kaushik
Citation: The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 155(1), 223-227
Date: 01/2025
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America's Health Rankings 2025 Health of Women and Children Report
Provides a national and state-by-state overview of the health of infants, children, and women of reproductive age. Compares rural-urban differences in mortality, severe morbidity, healthcare access, substance use, mental health conditions, and more among reproductive-age women at the national level, including a spotlight on chronic conditions among women in rural communities on document page 3. Includes maps that show concentrated disadvantage by county within each state.
Additional links: Concentrated Disadvantage by County, State Summaries
Date: 2025
Sponsoring organization: United Health Foundation
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Arizona State Health Assessment, 2024
Reports on the health of people in Arizona, including population subgroups, social determinants of health, and priority health issues. Discusses health and access disparities in rural, tribal, and border areas. Includes county-level data.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Department of Health Services
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The Prevalence of Small Airways Disease and Association with Handgrip Strength in Young Hispanic Farmworkers
Examines small airways disease (SAD) and developing obstructive lung disease (OLD) as indicators of pulmonary function in a rural population of Hispanic farmworkers living in the Southeastern United States. Utilizes 2013-2017 data from 113 farmworkers to observe demographic differences and prevalence of pulmonary function.
Author(s): Yutong Dong, Pam Cromer, Debbie Layman, et al.
Citation: BMC Pulmonary Medicine, 24, 636
Date: 12/2024
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Alabama Vital Statistics, 2022
Statistics on births, deaths, marriage, and population in Alabama in 2022. Includes birth rate, maternal demographics and characteristics, causes of death, divorces and annulments, population estimates, and more. Provides county-by-county data, including county-level maps.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Alabama Public Health
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QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years with Diagnosed Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, by Urbanization Level — United States, 2023
Bar chart showing adult COPD rates for large metropolitan, small and medium metropolitan, and nonmetro areas.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 773(46), 1067
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Eliminating Tobacco-Related Disease and Death: Addressing Disparities - A Report of the Surgeon General
Report explores disparities in tobacco use and tobacco use-related health outcomes. Identifies tobacco-related disparities and the various demographic groups that still use tobacco products at a higher rate than the national average, such as people below the poverty level, workers in manual labor or service industry jobs, and people who live in rural communities, among others. Highlights strategies for curtailing the expansion of tobacco use and details promising interventions for reducing tobacco-related health disparities.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Full Report
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Disparities in Infectious Disease-Related Health Care Utilization Between Medicaid-Enrolled American Indians and Non-Hispanic Whites—Lessons from the First 16 months of Coronavirus Disease 2019 and a Decade of Flu Seasons
Analyzes mortality and healthcare utilization disparities between American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) and non-Hispanic White populations related to influenza-like-illness (ILI) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Utilizes 2009-2021 New York Medicaid claims data, comparing pre-COVID-19 data to 4 time periods during the COVID-19 pandemic. Includes data breakdowns according to respiratory illness type, health outcomes, race/ethnicity, and rural versus nonrural county.
Author(s): Scarlett Sijia Wang, Randall Akee, Emilia Simeonova, Sherry Glied
Citation: Health Services Research, 60(1)
Date: 10/2024
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Reducing Asthma Attacks in Disadvantaged School Children with Asthma: Study Protocol for a Type 2 Hybrid Implementation-Effectiveness Trial (Better Asthma Control for Kids, BACK)
Study protocol describing implementation strategy packages for a regionally-tailored, school-based asthma intervention, Better Asthma Control for Kids (BACK), in order to improve asthma control and reduce geographic and socioeconomic disparities in Colorado. Identifies rurality as a contextual factor for study.
Author(s): Amy G. Huebschmann, Nichole M. Wagner, Melanie Gleason, et al.
Citation: Implementation Science, 19, 60
Date: 08/2024
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