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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health disparities

The Need for Medicare Dental Coverage
Details the oral health risks of limited dental coverage by Medicare. Discusses aging-related oral healthcare conditions, the economic barriers to care caused by lack of coverage, and how rurality can affect preexisting oral health disparities.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
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Evaluating the Impact of Altitudinal Variations on COVID-19 Mortality Rates: A Comprehensive Analysis
Examines the effects of high altitude on county-level COVID-19 mortality, fatality rates, and vaccination outcomes, utilizing January 2020-August 2022 New York Times COVID-19 repository and American Community Survey data. Includes data on fatality by level of rurality in the pre- and post-vaccination periods.
Author(s): Emre Karsli, Damla Anbarli Metin, Arda Kocatas, et al.
Citation: BMC Pulmonary Medicine, 25, 413
Date: 08/2025
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Trends and Disparities in Heart Failure Mortality With and Without Chronic Kidney Disease in a Nationwide Retrospective Analysis
Examines disparities in mortality among patients with concurrent heart failure and chronic kidney disease, utilizing 1999-2020 CDC WONDER data. Compares age-adjusted mortality by rural or urban dwelling, among other geographic and demographic factors.
Author(s): Maryam Shahzad, Sophia Ahmed, Muneeba Ahsan, et al.
Citation: Scientific Reports, 15, 29103
Date: 08/2025
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Geographic Disparities by Rural-Urban Status and Drive Time to Care in Tobacco Treatment for COPD
Explores the potential relationship between the drive-time to tobacco dependence treatment (TDT) services and the development of COPD among smokers. Details distances of rural smokers to TDT services. Draws from Veterans Affairs data and breaks down data by demographic characteristics, treatment type, and rural versus urban location, among other measures.
Author(s): Arianne K. Baldomero, Anne C. Melzer, Ken M. Kunisaki, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(8), e2528898
Date: 08/2025
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Rural Health Symposium May 8-9, 2025: Advancing Rural Health Through Research, Policy, and Community Partnerships
Summarizes research presentations, panel discussions, and other proceedings of a May 2025 conference on rural health disparities hosted by the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and Dartmouth Health. Identifies factors contributing to rural health disparities and suggests actions to be taken by healthcare systems, community groups, policymakers, and researchers, among others.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Dartmouth Health, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice
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Dental Care in Crisis: Tracking the Cost and Prevalence of Emergency Department Visits for Non-Traumatic Dental Conditions
Report explores non-traumatic emergency department visits for dental conditions. Tracks the cost and prevalence of incidents from 2019 to 2022. Includes a breakdown of incidents in rural, small or medium metro, fringe metro, and central metro counties.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
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Geographic Disparities in Access to Outpatient Stroke Rehabilitation in Texas
Examines rural-urban disparities in access to and use of outpatient stroke rehabilitation services in Texas, utilizing 2016-2019 Medicare claims data in addition to a survey of Texas clinics.
Author(s): Joseph Wozny, Melissa Howard, Susan Doherty, et al.
Citation: PLOS ONE, 20(8), e0328267.
Date: 08/2025
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Rural and Urban Differences in Prostate Cancer Recurrence
Examines rates of prostate cancer recurrence among 778 rural and urban men, utilizing data from the North Carolina Prostate Cancer Comparative Effectiveness Survivor Study. Analyzes the association of rurality and other demographic and clinical factors with recurrence.
Author(s): Julia B Balmaceda, Aaron J Katz, Katelyn Kane, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(8), e2526912
Date: 08/2025
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Baseline Estimates of Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Adults Aged 45 to 75 Years, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2022
Examines colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates for adults aged 45 to 75. Utilizes 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey data to analyze CRC screening status according to respondent demographics, income, access to healthcare and health plans, and metro versus nonmetro location.
Author(s): Sallyann Coleman King, Jessica King, Cheryll C. Thomas, Lisa C. Richardson
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 22
Date: 08/2025
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2025 Indiana State Rural Health Report
Examines the state of rural health in Indiana and provides data on the health of rural citizens. Focuses on access, healthcare workforce shortages, health insurance, healthcare facilities availability, mobile health, telehealth services, maternal and infant health, mental health, substance use, and rural health finances and funding.
Author(s): Amnah Anwar, Kasia Hamman, Anureet Sandhu, et al.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Indiana Rural Health Association
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