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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural definitions

Classification Change, 1999 to 2003: Office of Management and Budget Metropolitan Areas and Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) Map
Map of the Office of Management and Budget's June 2003 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) Designations for Counties that were nonmetropolitan in 1999.
Date: 07/2003
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Tennessee Livability Indicators Dashboard
Dashboard providing data on livability by county in Tennessee. Topics covered include community demographics, economics, health behaviors, causes of death, aging, infrastructure, food access, healthcare access, health status, housing, and more.
Sponsoring organizations: East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health Research, Tennessee Livability Collaborative
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FNS Rural Designation Map
Interactive map that shows rural designations in relation to Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) eligibility. User can input address to see if a location is designated as rural.
Sponsoring organization: USDA Food and Nutrition Administration
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Tennessee Rural Health Dashboard
Dashboard providing state- and county-level data on rural access to care and rural health policy in Tennessee. Topics covered include rural definitions, poverty, insurance coverage, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Clinics, and Healthcare Provider Shortage Area (HPSA) designations.
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Association of Tennessee
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Rural America (2010): Exploring Rural America Through the Lens of the 2010 Census Urban Delineation
Provides an overview of the U.S. Census Bureau's approach to defining rural areas for the 2010 Census, discusses the use of Decennial Census and American Community Survey data, and provides maps and data showing the distribution of the U.S. rural population. Explains concepts including urban deliniation, urbanized areas, urban clusters, and nonmetropolitan areas.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Non-Congregate Summer Meals
Provides an overview of the interim final rule allowing non-congregate summer meals in rural areas. Includes information on rural definitions, meal types and distribution, associated research on non-congregate meal offerings, implementation and outreach strategies, and additional resources and webinars.
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
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Area and Road Ruggedness Scales
Provides measures of topographic variation for 2020 census tracts, showing the ruggedness of terrain and roads. Identifies rurality and primary Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) code of each census tract along with ruggedness data. Also provides documentation, descriptions of each scale, and national maps. Includes access to 2010 Area and Road Ruggedness Scales, as well as a comparison of 2010 and 2020 versions.
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Health Professional Shortage Areas: Louisiana
Provides information and definitions on Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs), and Medically Underserved Populations (MUPs), as well as related HPSA opportunities and healthcare facilities. Includes county-level maps of primary care, dental, and mental HPSAs in Louisiana.
Sponsoring organization: Louisiana Department of Health
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Defining Rural for Wisconsin
Explains rural classification systems of Wisconsin counties. Includes maps that define or illuminate rural areas via Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, index of relative rurality, rural population by Census tract, Rural-Urban Commuting Areas, housing density, location of Wisconsin hospitals, and drive time to emergency care.
Sponsoring organization: Wisconsin Office of Rural Health
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USAC Rurality Tier Search Tool
Allows users to determine the applicable rural tier for a specific site location to calculate the rural rate for telecommunications support through the RHC Telecom Program. Tiers include extremely rural, rural, less rural, and non-rural. Tool provides general information; rurality tiers are formally assigned through the review and approval of FCC forms.
Additional links: How to: Use the Rurality Tier Search Tool
Sponsoring organization: Universal Service Administrative Company
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