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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Populations

COVID-19 Working Paper: Consumer Food Spending Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Examines U.S. consumer food-at-home (FAH) and food-away-from home (FAFH) purchasing behaviors prior to 2016-2019 and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020). Provides spending data for U.S. households by age, race and ethnicity, household composition, income, and region. Includes budget share data for fruits, vegetables, and protein, and per capita spending on FAH and FAFH by region and urban/rural areas.
Author(s): Abigail Okrent, Eliana Zeballos
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Disparities in Virtual Cardiology Visits Among Veterans Health Administration Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Presents the results of a study to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic, during the first year, influenced the digital divide for patients using virtual and video-based care in Veterans Health Administration (VA) cardiology clinics across the U.S. Study examined sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, drive time to care, geographic location – rural and urban – and encounter type to determine changes in access to care by video, phone, and face-to-face.
Author(s): Rebecca L. Tisdale, Jacqueline Ferguson, James Van Campen, et al.
Citation: JAMIA Open, 5(4)
Date: 12/2022
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Cancer Clinical Trials: Federal Actions and Selected Non-Federal Practices to Facilitate Diversity of Patients
Examines actions taken by federal agencies to increase diverse population enrollment in cancer clinical trials as well as practices by non-federal cancer centers to facilitate diverse enrollment. Discusses strategies such as collaboration, reducing barriers, data standardization, training, utilization of community ambassadors, and more. Focuses on inclusion of underrepresented groups such as racial/ethnic minorities, young adults, older adults, those with low incomes, women, American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons, and people living in rural communities.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Florence County Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse and Mental Health Coalition - Increasing Community Capacity and Resources through Partnership
Details a community effort to address substance use and mental health issues in rural Florence County, WI. Highlights the coalition's efforts to address the behavioral health of the county's youth and families through school-based efforts and discusses how collective action can address behavioral health issues in rural communities.
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Bright Research Group, County Health Rankings & Roadmaps
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COVID-19 Relief Funds: Lessons Learned Could Improve Future Distribution of Federal Emergency Relief to Tribal Recipients
Examines approaches selected federal agencies used to administer programs that provided COVID-19 funds to tribal recipients. Identifies lessons learned that could improve future federal relief to these recipients.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Ownership of Skilled Nursing Facilities: An Analysis of Newly-Released Federal Data
Analyzes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) dataset on the ownership of all U.S. skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) enrolled in Medicare. Examines 15,151 nursing homes by for-profit, nonprofit, or government controlled; organizational structure; affiliated entity by SNF size, Medicare and Medicaid certified versus Medicare-only certified, and rural versus urban location. Includes data on the 10 largest SNF chains and their distribution of SNFs across the U.S.
Author(s): W. Pete Welch, Iara Oliveira, Martin Blanco, Benjamin D. Sommers
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Mental Health Disorders Among Delivery Inpatient Stays by Patient Race and Ethnicity, 2020
Reports on the number and rate of delivery stays with a mental health disorder diagnosis by patient race and ethnicity for Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, White, and Hispanic populations. Includes data by location of patient residence for large metropolitan, small metro, and nonmetro areas.
Author(s): Audrey J. Weiss, Michael A. Head, Lawrence D. Reid
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Doula Care and Maternal Health: An Evidence Review
Examines the role of doula care in maternal health as well as impacts, challenges, access, disparities, reimbursement, and policy efforts related to maternity/doula care. Includes a county-level U.S. map of maternity care deserts and discussion of rural-specific maternity programs.
Author(s): Kathleen Knocke, Andre Chappel, Sarah Sugar, Nancy De Lew, Benjamin D. Sommers
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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U.S. Poverty Rates Differ by Age and County
Presents a series of U.S. county-level maps that show poverty rates among children and older adults using American Community Service (ACS) 5-year estimates for 2017-2021.
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Racial and Ethnic Differences in Emergency Department Visits Related to Substance Use Disorders, 2019
Explores emergency department (ED) visits related to substance use disorders (SUD) using data from the 2019 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). Presents the number and percentage of SUD-related ED visits by race and ethnicity for selected patient characteristics, including sex, age group, rural/urban location, and the social vulnerability of the county in which the individual resides.
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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