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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Mortality

Radiotherapy Deserts: The Impact of Race, Poverty, and the Rural-Urban Continuum on Density of Providers and the Use of Radiation Therapy in the US
Investigates the prevalence of radiotherapy deserts for prostate cancer (PC) and invasive breast cancer (BC) at the county level in the United States. Analyzes physicians to persons at risk (PPR) and use to persons at risk (UPR) according to gender, race/ethnicity, poverty level, and metro versus non-metro county. Includes U.S. maps depicting death and incidence rate hot zones, high PPR density, high UPR density, and more.
Author(s): Anna W. LaVigne, Theodore L. DeWeese, Jean L. Wright, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Radiation Oncology, 116(1), 17-27
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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Cancer Disproportionately Impacts Adults Living in Rural Areas
Analyzes cancer disparities in metro and nonmetro areas across the U.S. as well as select states that did not expand Medicaid coverage: Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Utilizes multiple data sources to examine cancer incidence, mortality, and survival rates in metro and nonmetro areas.
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: The National Grange
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Social Determinants of Cardiovascular Health: A Longitudinal Analysis of Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in US Counties From 2009 to 2018
Analyzes how social determinants of health (SDOH) are related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality over time. Analyzes county-level data of 17 SDOH from 2009 to 2018 which are further broken down by rural versus urban status.
Author(s): Heejung Son, Donglan Zhang, Ye Shen, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Heart Association, 12(2)
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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I Don't Believe a Person Has to Die When Trying to Get High: Overdose Prevention and Response Strategies in Rural Illinois
Examines overdose prevention and response of service providers and people who inject drugs in rural southern Illinois. Reports on interviews with 23 participants from August 2019 through February 2020 and discusses issues such as the growing presence of fentanyl, overdose prevention, overdose reversal, harm reduction education, and more.
Author(s): Suzan M. Walters, Marisa Felsher, David Frank, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(2), 1648
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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The State of Health in Tennessee: 2023 Annual Report to the 113th Tennessee General Assembly
Provides a comprehensive overview of health in Tennessee, including health outcomes of individuals and information on the health of the state's healthcare system. Includes statistics on rural hospitals that have closed in recent years, and those at risk of closure as of 2022. Features county-level maps showing Health Professional Shortage Areas.
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Tennessee Department of Health
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Shorter Time to Treatment Is Associated With Improved Survival in Rural Patients With Breast Cancer Despite Other Adverse Socioeconomic Factors
Analyzes the relationship between time to treatment initiation (TTI) and overall survival (OS) of cancer patients. Examines 1,205,031 women with breast cancer from 2004 to 2012 by socioeconomic and demographic information, with data further broken down by rural versus urban location.
Author(s): Minh-Tri Nguyen, Wei Wei, Gregory Cooper, Alok A. Khorana, Suneel D. Kamath
Citation: Oncology, 37(1), 19-24
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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2020 Rural Opioid Overdose Mortality
Highlights the rate of rural opioid overdose mortality in 2020 for several northern New England states and compares it to the national rate. Breaks down rates based on substances used as well.
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
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Rural–Urban Disparities in Adverse Maternal Outcomes in the United States, 2016–2019
Analyzes maternal mortality and admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU) in rural and urban areas in the U.S. between 2016 and 2019. Utilizes Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) to examine rural versus urban maternal health disparities.
Author(s): Katharine A. Harrington, Natalie A. Cameron, Kasen Culler, William A. Grobman, Sadiya S. Khan
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 113(2)
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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COVID-19 Mortality Rates across Noncore, Micropolitan, and Metropolitan Counties by Community Characteristics, December 2020-January 2021
Explores differences in COVID-19 mortality rates across rural-urban designations and stratifications by geography, county-level sociodemographic factors, and county-level healthcare factors. Features statistics on mortality rates by rurality and U.S. census region, racial/ethnic composition, and ICU and nursing home bed density, as well as state-level maps showing mortality rates per 100,000 with breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
Author(s): Whitney E. Zahnd, Khyathi Gadag, Fred Ullrich, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Geographic Disparities in COVID-19 Testing and Outcomes in Florida
Identifies geographic disparities in COVID-19 testing, incidence, hospitalizations, and mortality in Florida from March to July 2020. Provides county-level maps of COVID-19 patterns and discusses how spatial analysis can inform preventative public health interventions.
Author(s): Md Marufuzzaman Khan, Agricola Odoi, Evah W. Odoi
Citation: BMC Public Health, 23, 79
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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