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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Finding 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics Data for Urban and Rural Geographic Components
Brief video providing a step-by-step demonstration of how to find the urban and rural data available in the 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Child Nutrition Program Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic, March through September 2020: School Meals Operations Study, Year 1 Report (Final)
Describes trends in Child Nutrition (CN) Program participation during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, from March through September 2020. Presents data on the number of meals served, operational and financial challenges state agencies and local program operators experienced during the pandemic, and the use of COVID-19 Child Nutrition nationwide waivers. Includes information on challenges rural program operators faced.
Additional links: Report Summary
Author(s): Veronica Severn, Liana Washburn, Rachel Frisk, Kevin Conway
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Ambulance Deserts: Geographic Disparities in the Provision of Ambulance Services
Chartbook presenting data on ambulance deserts from 41 states in 2021-2022, and identifying places and people that are more than 25 minutes from an ambulance station. Include maps of ambulance desert locations and health care facility locations for every state with available data, and documents coverage gaps in the provision of ambulance services across geographic areas across the United States.
Author(s): Yvonne Jonk, Carly Milkowski, Zachariah Croll, Karen Pearson
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cancer Patients in Western Pennsylvania: Rural–Urban Disparities
Examines the impact of COVID-19 and related concerns on cancer patients in rural and urban areas of Pennsylvania. Analyzes a sample of 1,980 patient surveys from August-December 2020 and March 2021 by patient perception of pandemic-related distress, cancer care, COVID-19 impact on personal health, and more. Includes rural versus urban data on COVID-19 concerns related to cancer care as well as demographic breakdowns.
Author(s): Kathryn Demanelis, Margaret Rosenzweig, Linda B. Robertson, et al.
Citation: Cancer Causes Control, 34(7), 595-609
Date: 05/2023
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Disparities in Diabetes Care: Differences Between Rural and Urban Patients Within a Large Health System
Examines rural versus urban residence and the related impact on a patient's quality of diabetes care. Analyzes 2019 data of 45,279 patients with diabetes in a large healthcare system, comparing rural versus urban outcomes of 5 diabetes care metrics. Discusses health disparities in diabetes care based on geography.
Author(s): Randy Foss, Karen Fischer, Michelle A. Lampman, et al.
Citation: The Annals of Family Medicine, 21(3), 234-239
Date: 05/2023
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State Medicaid and Private Telemedicine Coverage Requirements and Telemedicine Use, 2013–2019
Examines the association between state Medicaid and private telemedicine coverage requirements and live video-based telemedicine use by analyzing nationally representative survey data from the 2013–2019 Association of American Medical Colleges Consumer Survey of Health Care Access. Evaluates the impact of these requirements by rurality. Explores whether telemedicine coverage requirements were associated with healthcare access.
Author(s): Brandy J. Lipton, Michael F. Pesko
Citation: Health Services Research, 2023
Date: 05/2023
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Health Inclusive Poverty Measure Estimates in the United States: 2014 to 2021
Reports on the Health Inclusive Poverty Measure (HIPM), which expands the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) by including health insurance values. Tables 3 and 6 include data on poverty rates for the HIPM and SPM for those inside and outside metro areas in 2021.
Author(s): John Creamer
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Comparing Public Transportation Services for Rural States in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains Region
Analyzes the availability of public transportation in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Minnesota by comparing the availability of rural transit and urban transit services in these states. Includes county-level maps showing level of transportation services by days and hours available, rural trips per capita, and rural vehicle revenue miles (VRM) per capita. Provides a list of rural, tribal, and urban transit agencies by state, including those servicing medical trips.
Author(s): Jeremy Mattson, Bright Quayson, Zhila Dehdari Ebrahimi
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
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Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model Evaluation: Second Evaluation Report
Provides an overview of the Accountable Health Communities (ACH) Model, which tests whether identifying and addressing core health-related social needs (HRSNs) of community-dwelling beneficiaries improves health outcomes, reduces healthcare costs, and reduces unnecessary healthcare utilization. Explores the context in which the AHC Model was implemented and the model's impacts on Medicaid, FFS Medicare, and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. Presents information on participating organizations that had rural areas within their geographic target areas (GTAs) and compares outcomes among urban and rural participants.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
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Adult Asthma Prevalence and Trend Analysis by Urban–Rural Status Across Sociodemographic Characteristics—United States, 2012-20
Examines 2020 asthma prevalence and 2012-2020 annual asthma trends by large central metro, large fringe metro, medium metro, small metro, micropolitan, and noncore location. Utilizes Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data to analyze geographic distribution of asthma conditions, which is further broken down by sex, age, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, insurance status, and income.
Author(s): Xiaoting Qin, Cynthia A. Pate, Hatice S. Zahran
Citation: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: Global, 2(2), 100085
Date: 05/2023
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