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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Emergency department and urgent care services

Emergency Department Visits for Diagnoses Directly Indicating Heat Exposure: Variation Across Counties in the United States, 2016–2020
Provides statistics on emergency department (ED) visits from 2016 to 2020 due to heat exposure. Provides data by rural, micropolitan, small and medium metro, and large metro county and includes U.S. maps showing concentration areas of ED visits as well as state-by-state data of ED visits.
Author(s): PL Owens, ML Barrett, KW McDermott
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Patterns of Health Care Use among Rural-Urban Medicare Beneficiaries Age 85 and Older, 2010-2017
Policy brief examining how rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries age 85+ differ in terms of their socioeconomic and health characteristics that may inform healthcare use. Features statistics on trends in healthcare use, including inpatient and emergency department care, outpatient and prescription services, specialists and dentists, and home health and durable medical equipment, with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Author(s): Yvonne Jonk, Heidi O'Connor, Amanda Burgess, Carly Milkowski
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Small Rural Hospitals with Low-Volume Emergency Departments that May Convert to a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH)
Explores a variety of characteristics of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and rural hospitals eligible to convert to the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation, including patient volume, services and technology, EMS, and clinical staffing characteristics. Compares eligible hospitals by emergency department volume in 2019. Summarizes observations made by emergency department physician advisers regarding this data and REH implementation concerns.
Author(s): Margaret Greenwood-Ericksen, TJ Grant, Susie Gurzenda, et al.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Changes in Emergency Department Visits in the Initial Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic (April–December 2020), 29 States
Presents data from 29 states on the difference between the number of emergency department (ED) visits and ED admission rates between April and December 2020 and compares this data to the same time period in 2019. Includes data by patient characteristics, including urban-rural status and race/ethnicity.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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'Filling the Cracks': How a Rural Maine Community Kept its 24/7 Urgent Care Open with Paramedics
Features a pilot program serving rural Maine where paramedics take shifts staffing the local health center after-hours and on weekends.
Author(s): Gretel Kauffman
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Suicide and Self-Harm in Youth Presenting to a US Rural Hospital During COVID-19
Presents a study on rural emergency department utilization and hospital admission for suicide or self-harm in children ages 5 to 17 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzes hospital data from January, 2017 to May 2021. Breaks down data by demographic factors, such as race, gender, and rurality, as well as length of stay and visit type, among other measures.
Author(s): Mary Arakelyan, Jennifer A. Emond, JoAnna K. Leyenaar
Citation: Hospital Pediatrics, 12(10), e336–e342
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
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Availability of Hospital-Based Emergency Department and Trauma Services in Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Group Areas
Explores the availability of hospital-based emergency department and trauma services nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition. Provides data on the median distance to the nearest emergency department and trauma service by rurality in minoritized and non-minoritized ZCTA and the percent of ZCTAs more than 30 miles from emergency department and trauma services by Census region.
Author(s): Nabil Natafgi, Peiyin Hung, Whitney E. Zahnd, et al.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2019 Emergency Department Summary Tables
Provides data on ambulatory care emergency department (ED) hospital visits. Table 1 provides metropolitan/nonmetropolitan ED visit data based on hospital location. Table 2 includes metro/nonmetro ED visit data by location of patient residence. Table 14 has metro/nonmetro injury visit data based on hospital location.
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Identifying Unique Barriers to Implementing Rural Emergency Department-Based Peer Services for Opioid Use Disorder Through Qualitative Comparison with Urban Sites
Study examining the implementation of emergency department-based interventions for opioid use disorder (OUD) in rural and urban areas based on interviews with programs in Indiana's Recovery Coach and Peer Support Initiative (RCPSI). Describes barriers to implementation for rural programs, including issues related to intervention characteristics, logistical challenges, and staffing issues.
Author(s): Dennis P. Watson, Monte D. Staton, Nicole Gastala
Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 17, 41
Date: 07/2022
Type: Document
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Rural Health Disparities in Health Care Utilization for Dementia in Minnesota
Examines emergency department (ED) and inpatient hospitalization rates for older adults with dementia in rural and urban areas of Minnesota. Utilizes 2016-2018 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention disease-specific mortality data to compare to chronologically related H-CUP's State Inpatient Database (SID) and State Emergency Department Database (SEDD) hospital and ED visit data. Includes rural versus urban breakdowns of hospitalizations and ED visits by demographics such as age, sex, income, education, minority status, health behaviors, and access to healthcare providers.
Author(s): Sung Han Rhew, Kristen Jacklin, Patrick Bright, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(3), 656-665
Date: 07/2022
Type: Document
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