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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health disparities

North Carolina State Health Improvement Plan 2023
Describes North Carolina's 2023 plan for population health improvement. Provides data on selected health indicators, makes comparisons to 2030 targets, and identifies trends over time for selected demographics. Identifies factors contributing to health disparities and negative health outcomes, and sets priorities. Includes consideration of rural and underserved populations throughout.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
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Breast and Colorectal Cancer Screening Utilization after Hurricane María and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Puerto Rico
Explores breast and colorectal cancer screening utilization rates in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and the COVID-19 pandemic. Bases findings on Puerto Rico's Medicaid population and breaks down screening data by year from 2016-2021.
Author(s): Vivian Colón-López, Héctor M. Contreras-Mora, Cynthia M. Pérez
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(19), 6870
Date: 10/2023
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Applying a Health Equity Lens to Work-Related Motor Vehicle Safety in the United States
Summarizes the literature on risk disparities for work-related motor vehicles crashes by sociodemographic and employment characteristics. Identifies potential causes of disparities at individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy levels. Includes statistics on people who live and work in rural areas and are likely to depend on a motor vehicle to commute to and from work and between work locations.
Author(s): Stephanie Pratt, Kyla Hagan-Haynes
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(20), 6909
Date: 10/2023
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Rural Health: Addressing Barriers to Care
An infographic that presents data on rural versus urban health disparities and barriers to healthcare in rural America. Includes interactive data on percentage of rural residents by state, rural life expectancy and chronic health conditions, hospital closures and lack of access to healthcare, rural workforce shortages, and more. Provides strategies to improve rural access to healthcare.
Author(s): Carrie Cochran-McClain
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organizations: National Institute for Health Care Management, National Rural Health Association
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Psychologists Need More Experience Working With Indigenous Populations
Discusses the need for more psychologists with knowledge and experience working with Indigenous communities. Highlights the lack of cultural knowledge among psychologists about American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations.
Author(s): Karen Stamm, Meron Assefa, Luona Lin
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: American Psychological Association
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A Formal Framework For Incorporating Equity Into Health Care Quality Measurement
Describes equity weighting, a measurement used to address population health disparities by examining multiple demographic factors that then interpret healthcare quality for specific population groups. Utilizes 2017 Medicare colorectal cancer screening data to show examples of equity weighting, with demographics broken down by patient race and rurality.
Author(s): Denis Agniel, Irineo Cabreros, Cheryl L. Damberg, Marc N. Elliott, Rhianna Rogers
Citation: Health Affairs, 42(10)
Date: 10/2023
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Challenges to Care of Patients with Diabetes in Rural, Underserved Areas
Discusses the provision of diabetes care to patients in rural areas. Includes information on demographics, barriers to care, and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).
Author(s): Richard J. Santen
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: University of Virginia School of Medicine
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Rural-Urban Disparities in Health Outcomes, Clinical Care, Health Behaviors, and Social Determinants of Health and an Action-Oriented, Dynamic Tool for Visualizing Them
Examines county-level disparities in rural and urban health outcomes and presents a health equity dashboard depicting the disparities. Utilizes 2015 and 2019 County Health Rankings datasets to analyze measures such as health outcomes, clinical care, health behaviors, physical environment, and social and economic factors according to urban, suburban, and rural location.
Author(s): William B. Weeks, Ji E. Chang, José A. Pagán, et al.
Citation: PLOS Global Public Health, 3(10)
Date: 10/2023
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Rural and Urban Variations in Pap Screening During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Poster presentation that shows data on rural and urban receipt of Pap screenings between 2019 and 2022. Utilizes National Cancer Institutes HINT data to examine demographic differences and disparities in preventative cancer screenings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Author(s): Amanda T. Wiggins, Tyrone F. Borders
Date: 09/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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Effect of a Telephone-Based Lifestyle Intervention on Weight, Body Composition, and Metabolic Biomarkers in Rural Ohio: Results from a Randomized Pilot Study
Examines the effectiveness of a 15-week telephone counseling intervention encouraging healthy eating and physical activity among 27 rural Ohio adults with overweight or obesity. Provides data on participants' weight, body composition, fasting blood lipids, and inflammatory biomarkers after 15 weeks of intervention. Highlights findings related to weight and cholesterol management, and discusses rural health disparities and access barriers.
Author(s): Xiaochen Zhang, Victoria R. DeScenza, Zachary L. Chaplow, et al.
Citation: Nutrients, 15(18), 3998
Date: 09/2023
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