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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health disparities

Rural and Urban Differences in Care Provided by Home Health Agencies in the United States: A Review of the Literature
Explores the differences in care outcomes for rural and urban home health agencies (HHAs). Discusses some of the barriers faced by rural HHAs, such as overcoming long distances, increased costs, and workforce limitations, among others.
Author(s): Denise D. Quigley, Ashley M. Chastain, Jung A. Kang, et al.
Citation: The Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, 23(10), 1653.e1-1653.e13
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
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Missouri Cancer Action Plan: 2021-2025
A guide for cancer control and prevention in Missouri. Details 4 main goals with topics relating to cancer diagnosis, patient healthcare decisions, survivor quality of life, and how cancer disrupts life. Includes goals and objectives focusing on health equity and eliminating cancer disparities such as those seen in rural areas of the state.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Missouri Cancer Consortium, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
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An Insurance Profile of Rural America: Chartbook
Provides information on the health insurance status of rural Americans under the age of 65. Describes trends in sources of health insurance coverage, insurance market dynamics in rural communities, and trends in out-of-pocket expenditures. Compares metro and non-metro data on insurance coverage by region and sociodemographic characteristics; the relationship of health status to insurance coverage; affordability; trends in Marketplace and Medicare Advantage coverage offerings at the county level; and more.
Author(s): Timothy McBride, Abigail Barker, Emily Hernandez, et al.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Advancing Health Equity and Integrated Care for Rural Dual Eligibles
Discusses health disparities for rural individuals dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Presents an overview of a toolkit to advance health equity for rural dual eligibles and findings from roundtables of 50 stakeholders across 3 states regarding solutions for the workforce and service needs of this population.
Author(s): Ellen Breslin, Samantha Di Paola, Susan McGeehan, Rebecca Kellenberg, Andrea Maresca
Citation: Health Affairs Forefront
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
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Rural Health Research Recap: Maternal Health Disparities: An Intersection of Race and Rurality
Summarizes recent research from Rural Health Research Centers examining the loss of hospital-based obstetric services and racial/ethnic disparities surrounding maternal and infant health. Features statistics on percent of counties which lost obstetric services from 2014-2018 with breakdowns by 4 levels of population density, annual births at hospitals providing obstetric services from 2010-2018 by rurality, percent of rural counties without obstetric services in 2019, and rates of preterm birth by race/ethnicity and rurality from 2012-2018.
Author(s): Per Ostmo, Jessica Rosencrans
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway
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Maternal Health: Availability of Hospital-Based Obstetric Care in Rural Areas
Explores the availability of hospital-based obstetric services in rural areas. Summarizes stakeholder perspectives on the factors affecting the availability of these services and on the efforts federal agencies, states, and others could take to increase the access to obstetric care. Highlights six programs identified by researchers and provider associations as effective at increasing obstetric care in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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How Resilient Are Communities Along the U.S.-Mexico Border?
Examines economic and health risk factor data for the United States-Mexico border region based on Community Resilience Estimates (CRE) and American Community Survey (ACS) data. Compares average risk factor statistics for border counties, non-border counties in border states, and all non-border counties in the U.S., and offers comparisons for the 4 border states.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Association of Health Insurance, Geography, and Race and Ethnicity with Disparities in Receipt of Recommended Postpartum Care in the US
Explores whether there is a significant difference in the characteristics of patients who received a postpartum visit and the content covered in these visits. Uses data from the 2016-2019 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) surveys to compare visit attendance and content across health insurance type, rural or urban residency, and race and ethnicity.
Author(s): Julia D. Interrante, Lindsay Admon, Caitlin Carroll, et al.
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 3(10), e223292
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
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Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S. 2022
Explores maternal healthcare access and provides county-level U.S. maps that show maternity care deserts, hospitals and birth centers that offer obstetric (OB) care, distribution of OB providers, percentage of women without health insurance, percentage of births covered by Medicaid, and more. Includes rural versus urban characteristics of maternity care deserts as well as access and policy discussions specific to rural areas.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: March of Dimes
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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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