Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health disparities

Special Needs in Rural America: Implications for Healthcare Workforce Education, Training, and Practice
Offers policy recommendations to strengthen rural health workforce training and improve access to healthcare in rural areas. Addresses the health and social needs of rural America through evidence-based health workforce investments in education, training, and practice. Examines disparities in health and access to care in rural areas, and mismatch in supply and demand.
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Council on Graduate Medical Education
view details
Spatial Barriers as Moral Failings: What Rural Distance Can Teach Us about Women's Health and Medical Mistrust
Explores the perceptions of rural women about their access to healthcare, including maternal care. Discusses some of the perceived barriers to healthcare access by rural women, such as spacial distance and mistrust of healthcare providers.
Author(s): Michele Statz, Kaylie Evers
Citation: Health and Place, 64, 102396
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
view details
Rural Social Isolation and Loneliness: Rates, Importance, and Identifying Risk
Three-part webinar recording discussing loneliness and isolation in rural areas before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Part one details isolation rates and risk assessment; part two highlights programs working to make connections with the aging rural populations during the pandemic; and part three explores community building and grief support during COVID-19.
Additional links: Session Three: Rural but Reachable: How to Build Grief Support by Creating Community, Session Two: The Evolving Nature of Social Connections: Promoting Well-Being in Times of Crisis
Date: 07/2020
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center
view details
Individual Market Volatility and Vulnerability, 2015 to 2019
Study examining health insurance options and premium prices from 2015-2019, including rural/urban differences. Provides data and statistics on market volatility and vulnerability, with information broken down by population, race, health status, number of hospital beds, and more.
Author(s): Jean Marie Abraham
Citation: RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 6(2): 206–22
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
view details
Contact Tracing for Native Americans in Rural Arizona
Details the efforts to do COVID-19 contact tracing in Native American communities in rural Arizona. Discusses the role of a Critical Access Hospital in providing public health support in rural communities during the pandemic.
Author(s): Ryan M. Close, Myles J. Stone
Citation: New England Journal of Medicine, 383, e15
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
view details
CDC COVID-19 Response Health Equity Strategy: Accelerating Progress Towards Reducing COVID-19 Disparities and Achieving Health Equity
Provides an overview of the CDC strategy to improve health outcomes for populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19, including people living in rural and frontier areas, racial and ethnic minorities, and other populations. Describes four priorities: expanding the evidence base; addressing testing, contact tracing, isolation, healthcare, and recovery; supporting essential and frontline workers to prevent transmission of COVID-19; and developing an inclusive workforce to address the diverse U.S. population.
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
view details
Rural Matters - Coronavirus and the Navajo Nation
Presents a first-hand account of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Navajo Nation. Discusses the social and environmental factors that contribute to the spread of the virus.
Author(s): Heather Kovich
Citation: New England Journal of Medicine, 383, 105-107
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
view details
Health Care Access for Infants and Toddlers in Rural Areas
Research brief describing how rural children are more likely to face a unique combination of challenges that negatively impact their health and development, such as fewer healthcare providers, barriers to accessing care, and higher rates of poverty. Includes rural/urban comparisons for each state, with information on the percentage of infants and toddlers lacking health insurance, receiving recommended vaccinations, attending a preventive medical appointment, and more.
Author(s): Jessie Laurore, Gayane Baziyants, Sarah Daily
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Child Trends
view details
Improving Substance Use Care: Addressing Barriers to Expanding Integrated Treatment Options for Post-9/11 Veterans
Report details the barriers to behavioral health treatment for veterans of the post-9/11 wars. Highlights challenges specific to rural veterans, such as stigma around mental health and substance use issues, as well as distance to care. Discusses methods for overcoming barriers to treatment.
Author(s): Eric R. Pedersen, Kathryn E. Bouskill, Stephanie Brooks Holliday, et al.
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
view details
American Communities Experience Deaths of Despair at Uneven Rates
Analyzes nationally representative data from 2014-2018 on deaths of despair (DoD), or deaths resulting from substance use or suicide. Includes county-level statistics on DoD, with information broken down by rurality and race/ethnicity.
Author(s): Dante Chinni
Date: 07/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Communities Project
view details