Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health disparities

2024 National Impact Assessment of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Measures Report
Evaluates the quality measures used across 26 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quality reporting programs. Explores whether quality measure scores during the COVID-19 public health emergency (2020-2021) differed from expected trends. Analyzes how different population groups, including urban and rural residents, performed at a national level in order to inform future quality measure development and advance health equity. Provides statistics concerning participation and performance within Medicare quality reporting programs, including statistics specific to rural populations and facilities.
Additional links: Appendices ZIP File
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
Rural Women Have a Prolonged Recovery Process after Esophagectomy
Examines esophagectomy treatment and outcomes among rural and urban women and men using 2003-2022 patient care data from a high-volume cancer center. Discusses gender-based and geographic disparities in esophageal cancer surgery recovery and care access, and highlights the need for interventions to improve care for rural women.
Author(s): Julia Schroeder, Kiran Lagisetty, William Lynch, et al.
Citation: Cancers, 16(6), 1078
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
view details
Associations of Medical Debt With Health Status, Premature Death, and Mortality in the US
Results of a study of 2,943 counties, to examine whether medical debt in collections is associated with population health at the county level. Includes county-level maps showing rates and median amounts of medical debt as of 2018, and statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan or nonmetropolitan areas.
Author(s): Xuesong Han, Xin Hu, Zhiyuan Zheng, Kewei Sylvia Shi, K. Robin Yabroff
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(3), e2354766
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
view details
The Nature of the Rural-Urban Mortality Gap
Examines rural-urban mortality disparities in the working-age U.S. population. Analyzes the natural-cause mortality (NCM) rate with 1999-2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control's wide-ranging online data for epidemiology research (WONDER) database according to sex, race and ethnicity, health condition, region, and state.
Author(s): Kelsey L. Thomas, Elizabeth A. Dobis, David A. McGranahan
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
view details
Associations of Demographic and Social Factors on Health-Related Quality-of-Life Changes Among Older Women With Breast or Gynecologic Cancer
Identifies factors associated with changes in physical and mental quality of life among women aged 65 and older with breast or gynecologic cancer, utilizing 1998-2017 SEER-MHOS data. Compares quality of life over time by race and ethnicity, marital status, level of health-related social interference, and rurality. Discusses implications to nurse-led quality-of-life interventions for older patients.
Author(s): Elizabeth K. Arthur, Melica Nikahd, J. Madison Hyer, et al.
Citation: Oncology Nursing Forum, 51(2), 127-141
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
view details
The Impact of Rural General Hospital Closures on Communities—A Systematic Review of the Literature
Presents a literature review of studies on the health and economic effects hospital closures have had on rural communities. Analyzes 21 studies completed in the previous 8 years and details the economic and healthcare access outcomes identified.
Author(s): Carol A. Mills, Valerie A. Yeager, Kathleen T. Unroe, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(2), 238-248
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
view details
A New Path Forward: A Progress Report on the Implementation of the Equity Commission's Recommendations - Update 2024
Reports on efforts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to advance equity in accordance with Equity Commission recommendations. Discusses the department's commitment to equitable service delivery, and describes updates to programs affecting farmers and ranchers, farmworkers, tribal communities, nutrition assistance, immigrants, rural development, healthcare access, and more.
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Agriculture
view details
Advancing Equity in Challenging Times: A Qualitative Study of Telehealth Expansion And Changing Patient–Provider Relationships In Primary Care Settings During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Examines the expansion of telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic and potential access issues related to technical and workforce barriers. Analyzes interview data from primary healthcare providers to explore challenges such as reduced team-based care coordination, technological difficulties, loss of nonverbal communication, and equity issues for vulnerable groups, including those in rural areas.
Author(s): Monisa Aijaz, Valerie A Lewis, Genevra F Murray
Citation: Digital Health, 10
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
view details
Disparities in Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis Based on Residence and Distance From Medical Facility
Evaluates associations between thyroid cancer stage at diagnosis, rural or urban status, and distance from treatment center among 800 current thyroid cancer patients in Nebraska. Includes demographic breakdowns and discussion of access-based treatment and outcome disparities.
Author(s): Sunita Regmi, Paraskevi A Farazi, Elizabeth Lyden, et al.
Citation: Journal of the Endocrine Society, 8(5), bvae033
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
view details
The Báa nnilah Program: Results of a Chronic-Illness Self-Management Cluster Randomized Trial with the Apsáalooke Nation
Presents a study on the efficacy of a chronic illness self-management program for Apsáalooke tribe in Montana. Breaks down data by demographic information, such as education, income, and marital status, among other measures, and number and type of illnesses managed.
Author(s): Suzanne Held, Du Feng, Alma McCormick, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(3), 285
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
view details