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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health disparities

Rural Health Disparities: Contemporary Solutions for Persistent Rural Public Health Challenges
Special issue of Preventing Chronic Disease featuring articles that examine rural health disparities and discuss rural public health strategies to address cancer, diabetes, and other chronic conditions, and to promote physical activity.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease
Date: 06/2025
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Evolution of the US Nonmetropolitan Mortality Disadvantage by Sex, State, and Year, 1999–2019
Highlights rural and urban disparities in mortality by sex and state from 1999 to 2019. Breaks down data by year, sex, and Census division, among other measures.
Author(s): Eugenio Paglino, Irma T. Elo, Samuel H. Preston, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(2), e70040
Date: 06/2025
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Geographic Disparities in Unpaid Caregiving
Presents a study examining the differences in the perceived health and well-being of unpaid caregivers between rural and urban areas. Breaks down data by caregiver demographic characteristics, such as age, sex, and employment status, among others.
Author(s): Emma Kathryn Boswell, Monique J. Brown, Lorie Donelle, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(2), e70039
Date: 06/2025
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Effects of Using Different Rural Measurements on Estimates of Hospitalizations for Depression and Substance Use
Explores how using different rural measurements can affect estimates of hospitalization rates for behavioral health conditions. Highlights how rural-urban commuting areas (RUCA) codes, core-based statistical areas (CBSA), urban-rural category four (URCategory4), and rural urban continuum codes (RUCC) affect hospitalization estimates. Discusses the consequences these difference can have on policy.
Author(s): Robin Danek, Justin Blackburn, Marion Greene, et al.
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 25, 818
Date: 06/2025
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Economic Factors Associated With County-Level Mental Health – United States, 2019
Explores the correlation between economic factors, such as household income, education, and supplemental income and nutritional support, and county-level mental health. Breaks down economic factors, such as employment, income and wealth, and expenses by rural and urban location.
Author(s): Michele L.F. Bolduc, Parya Saberi, Torsten B. Neilands, et al.
Citation: PLoS One, 20(6), e0300939
Date: 06/2025
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Impact of COVID-19 on Clinical Trials Costs to Patients
Examines the direct and indirect costs of COVID-19 clinical trial participation to patients and the impact of utilizing remote technologies. Presents an environmental scan of articles published between 2010 and 2023 and discusses barriers to clinical trial participation experienced by underrepresented and rural populations.
Author(s): Keri Calkins, Emily Crabtree, Emily Harrison, Nyna Williams, Kirsten Barrett
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Mathematica
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Assessing Neighborhood Deprivation Reveals Rural-Urban Disparities in CGM Access Among Children With Type 1 Diabetes
Examines disparities in access to continuous glucose monitor (CGM) technology in rural versus urban and high deprivation versus low deprivation areas, utilizing 2016-2023 pediatric endocrine patient encounter data for a region including parts of Missouri and Kansas. Highlights interactions between rurality, deprivation, access, and neighborhood demographics.
Author(s): Daniel R. Tilden, Christie A. Befort, Brent Lockee, et al.
Citation: Diabetes Care, dc250077
Date: 05/2025
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Access to CCTA at Safety-Net Hospitals Across the United States
Examines the availability of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) at safety-net hospitals to evaluate patients with chest pain. Analyzes 391 safety-net hospitals according to bed size, state, academic status, and rural versus urban location.
Author(s): Jonah Delshad, Trevor Weis, Caleb Bayona, et al.
Citation: Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, 19(3), 340-343
Date: 05/2025
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Current Approaches to Rural Health Workforce Challenges Need Improvement
Describes rural health disparities using data from New York's provider recruitment efforts. Features statistics on the percentage of New York-trained physicians in the states with the highest rural populations, and workforce recruitment program outcomes with breakdowns by medical specialty and urban or rural location.
Author(s): Gaetano Forte
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Association of American Medical Colleges
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Midwest Urban-Rural Differences in Cancer Prevalence
Analyzes cancer prevalence by level of rurality in a midwestern region, utilizing Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) data of 647,909 people who lived in a 27-county region of Minnesota and Wisconsin as of January 2020. Includes data breakdowns by level of rurality and place of cancer, smoking status, sex, age, and other demographic factors.
Author(s): Christine M. Prissel, Brandon R. Grossardt, Lila J. Finney Rutten, et al.
Citation: Mayo Clinic Proceedings
Date: 05/2025
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