Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Populations
America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2025
Provides a national and state-by-state overview of population health for older adults across 55 measures using data from 24 unique data sources. Covers social and economic factors, physical environment, clinical care, behaviors, and health outcomes. Highlights health disparities, including rural-urban disparities, across five categories of health. Includes state-by-state summaries and county-level maps for risk of social isolation by state.
Additional links: Executive Brief, Risk of Social Isolation County-Level Maps, State Summaries
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: United Health Foundation
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Provides a national and state-by-state overview of population health for older adults across 55 measures using data from 24 unique data sources. Covers social and economic factors, physical environment, clinical care, behaviors, and health outcomes. Highlights health disparities, including rural-urban disparities, across five categories of health. Includes state-by-state summaries and county-level maps for risk of social isolation by state.
Additional links: Executive Brief, Risk of Social Isolation County-Level Maps, State Summaries
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: United Health Foundation
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Indian Health Service's Controls Over Sanitation Facilities Construction Program Projects Funded Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Could Be Improved
Explores Indian Health Service (IHS) internal controls regarding identifying, recording, and tracking projects in the Sanitation Deficiency System (SDS) and ensuring that Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds are limited to eligible project costs. Offers recommendations to IHS to improve controls for identifying and recording SFC Program projects funded under IIJA and for ensuring IIJA funds are used only for eligible project costs.
Additional links: Report Highlights
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Explores Indian Health Service (IHS) internal controls regarding identifying, recording, and tracking projects in the Sanitation Deficiency System (SDS) and ensuring that Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds are limited to eligible project costs. Offers recommendations to IHS to improve controls for identifying and recording SFC Program projects funded under IIJA and for ensuring IIJA funds are used only for eligible project costs.
Additional links: Report Highlights
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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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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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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Bringing Virtual Behavioral Health Care Access to Rural Youth in West Virginia
Podcast episode that discusses a virtual collaborative behavioral healthcare model for children in rural West Virginia. Focuses on early behavioral health interventions, access, and improved health outcomes.
Author(s): Tom Haederle, Adrienne Coopey, Jordan Steiger
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Podcast episode that discusses a virtual collaborative behavioral healthcare model for children in rural West Virginia. Focuses on early behavioral health interventions, access, and improved health outcomes.
Author(s): Tom Haederle, Adrienne Coopey, Jordan Steiger
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Economic Hardship and Health Within Sociodemographic and Occupational Groups — Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2022–2023
Reports on economic hardship measures and self-rated health among employed and recently unemployed adults. Hardship measures included lack of health insurance, cost of medical care, employment instability, food insecurity, housing insecurity, utility insecurity, lack of reliable transportation, and receipt of food benefits. Provides data by occupation, including for people employed in farming, fishing, and forestry.
Author(s): Sharon R. Silver, Jia Li, Taylor M. Shockey
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(19), 326-333
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Reports on economic hardship measures and self-rated health among employed and recently unemployed adults. Hardship measures included lack of health insurance, cost of medical care, employment instability, food insecurity, housing insecurity, utility insecurity, lack of reliable transportation, and receipt of food benefits. Provides data by occupation, including for people employed in farming, fishing, and forestry.
Author(s): Sharon R. Silver, Jia Li, Taylor M. Shockey
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(19), 326-333
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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School-Based Enhanced Hearing Screening and Specialty Telehealth Follow-Up for Hearing Loss among Children in Rural Alaska: Study Protocol for a Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Stepped Wedge, Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial (North STAR Trial)
Describes a study protocol that examines the impact of providing specialty hearing care for students in rural Alaska following standard school hearing screenings. Focuses on trial objectives, design, setting, participants, recruitment, data collection, and planned statistical analyses.
Author(s): Samantha Kleindienst Robler, Janet Prvu Bettger, Elizabeth Turner, et al.
Citation: Trials, 26, 175
Date: 05/2025
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Describes a study protocol that examines the impact of providing specialty hearing care for students in rural Alaska following standard school hearing screenings. Focuses on trial objectives, design, setting, participants, recruitment, data collection, and planned statistical analyses.
Author(s): Samantha Kleindienst Robler, Janet Prvu Bettger, Elizabeth Turner, et al.
Citation: Trials, 26, 175
Date: 05/2025
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Finding Hidden Insights in American Indian and Alaska Native Data on data.census.gov
Webinar recording discusses how to use data.census.gov to access American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) demographic data. Highlights strategies such as using specialized filter sections,overlooked data sources, and other techniques to reveal detailed data on AI/AN geographies and populations.
Additional links: Webinar Slides
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Webinar recording discusses how to use data.census.gov to access American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) demographic data. Highlights strategies such as using specialized filter sections,overlooked data sources, and other techniques to reveal detailed data on AI/AN geographies and populations.
Additional links: Webinar Slides
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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As Rural Populations Grow Older, Communities Increasingly Rely on Smaller Labor Force
Reports on rural-urban differences in labor force availability and age dependency ratios caused by the growing demographic share of older people in the U.S. Breaks down data by county-level rurality, and discusses rural infrastructure, healthcare, and caregiving needs.
Author(s): Richelle L. Winkler
Citation: Amber Waves
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Reports on rural-urban differences in labor force availability and age dependency ratios caused by the growing demographic share of older people in the U.S. Breaks down data by county-level rurality, and discusses rural infrastructure, healthcare, and caregiving needs.
Author(s): Richelle L. Winkler
Citation: Amber Waves
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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The Protective Role of Community Cohesion Across Rural and Urban Contexts: Implications for Youth Mental Health
Examines the impact of community cohesion on youth resilience during adverse experiences and socioeconomic issues. Utilizes longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study and compares rural and urban youth across categories such as neighborhood characteristics, negative life events, community cohesion, and internalizing and externalizing mental health symptoms.
Author(s): Alexis Brieant, Keith B. Burt
Citation: Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 30(2), 140-148
Date: 05/2025
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Examines the impact of community cohesion on youth resilience during adverse experiences and socioeconomic issues. Utilizes longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study and compares rural and urban youth across categories such as neighborhood characteristics, negative life events, community cohesion, and internalizing and externalizing mental health symptoms.
Author(s): Alexis Brieant, Keith B. Burt
Citation: Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 30(2), 140-148
Date: 05/2025
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Medicaid Plays A Key Role for Maternal and Infant Health in Rural Communities
Explores the role of Medicaid in covering women of childbearing age - 19 through 44 years old - living in small towns and rural areas. Presents data from the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) on the percentage of women of childbearing age in small towns and rural areas who have Medicaid coverage by state and compares the share of Medicaid coverage to similar women in metropolitan counties. Describes the percentage of women of childbearing age with Medicaid coverage as a share of non-elderly adults with Medicaid across Medicaid expansion states and non-expansion states. Highlights the 20 small towns and rural areas with the highest share of women of childbearing age covered by Medicaid.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute
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Explores the role of Medicaid in covering women of childbearing age - 19 through 44 years old - living in small towns and rural areas. Presents data from the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) on the percentage of women of childbearing age in small towns and rural areas who have Medicaid coverage by state and compares the share of Medicaid coverage to similar women in metropolitan counties. Describes the percentage of women of childbearing age with Medicaid coverage as a share of non-elderly adults with Medicaid across Medicaid expansion states and non-expansion states. Highlights the 20 small towns and rural areas with the highest share of women of childbearing age covered by Medicaid.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute
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