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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural definitions

Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas of the United States and Puerto Rico
Map of the United States displaying metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas by county using data from the Office and Management and Budget (OMB). Uses metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas as defined by OMB as of July 2023.
Date: 03/2024
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Use of the Area Deprivation Index and Rural Applications in the Peer-Reviewed Literature
Brief discusses the use of the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) in peer-reviewed literature and interrogates how deprivation is defined and how the ADI is related to rurality. Defines ADI based on a literature review and explores the co-usage of ADI and rural in the literature. Recommends future research topics related to ADI and rurality.
Author(s): Casey P. Balio, Nicole Galler, Stephanie M. Mathis, et al.
Date: 03/2024
Sponsoring organization: ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
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North Carolina County Designations of Core Based Statistical Areas
Color-coded county-level map of metropolitan, micropolitan, and neither metropolitan nor micropolitan central and outlying counties in North Carolina. Indicates areas of high population density. Includes Office of Rural Health rural-urban designations.
Date: 03/2024
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
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In Search of Rural: How Varying Definitions Shape Housing Research
Describes the effect of rural definitions on rural housing research. Categorizes rural definitions by type, and compares data produced by applying 11 rural definitions to 2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Discusses definition impacts on estimated rural demographics and housing stock, characteristics, and challenges. Includes state-by-state estimates of rural population share for each definition.
Author(s): Alexander Hermann, Whitney Airgood-Obrycki
Date: 02/2024
Sponsoring organization: Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS)
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Self-Identified Rurality in a Nationally Representative Population in the US
Evaluates self-identified rurality and ZIP code-derived Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) classification among 774 U.S. adults. Provides data on level of agreement between perceived rurality and RUCA classification, identifies factors contributing to discrepancies, and proposes a reclassification of selected RUCA codes.
Author(s): Dustin C. Krutsinger, Kuldeep N. Yadav, Joanna L. Hart
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 24(1), 8483
Date: 01/2024
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How Rural Is All of Us? Comparing Characteristics of Rural Participants in the National Institute of Health's All of Us Research Program to Other National Data Sources
Compares the All of Us health research dataset that utilizes self-reported rurality to other nationally representative data sources that represent rurality. Discusses implications of using the All for Us dataset as a proxy measure of rurality in health research.
Author(s): Janessa M. Graves, Shawna R. Beese, Demetrius A. Abshire, Kevin J. Bennett
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(4), 745-751
Date: 2024
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Fact Sheet: How to Define Rurality
Fact sheet defines rural in the context of the Veterans Health Administration. Discusses RUCA codes, Census tracts, and how the VA assigns rurality.
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
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Development of the Rural Perception Scale (RPS-18)
Examines perceptions of rurality through a survey of 1,384 people in rural Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Provides data breakdowns by geography of 18 perceptions related to belonging, attitudes toward rurality, loneliness, and community social ties. Discusses the relationship between individual factors, the concept of rurality, and geographically defined versus perceived rurality.
Author(s): Sunny Jung Kim, Jennifer Alford-Teaster, Jenna E. Schiffelbein, Tracy Onega
Citation: The Journal of Rural Health, 40(2), 348-367
Date: 09/2023
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Oregon Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) Facilities
Shows a county-level map of Oregon identifying the locations of hospitals participating in the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP), whether they are type A or B, and whether they are located in a frontier county.
Date: 09/2023
Sponsoring organization: Oregon Office of Rural Health
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2020 Census: Urban Areas of the United States and Puerto Rico
Wall map showing and labeling urban areas in the United States and Puerto Rico. Utilizes 2020 Census urban area criteria, which define rural or urban areas utilizing census block data.
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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