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Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Rural Death Rates from COVID-19 Surpassed Urban Death Rates in Early September 2020
Chart showing weekly COVID-19 death rates per 100,000 adults, comparing urban and rural communities. Discusses higher death rates in rural areas in early September 2020, addressing factors impacting the increase.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Urban–Rural Differences in Drug Overdose Death Rates, 1999–2019
Examines age-adjusted drug overdose deaths in urban and rural counties. Includes urban-rural data on overdose deaths overall and for selected types of opioids and stimulants from 1999 through 2019. Identifies states with higher overdose deaths in rural counties, higher rates in urban counties, and states with no significant difference between rural and urban overdose death rates.
Author(s): Holly Hedegaard, Merianne Rose Spencer
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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"All Hands On Deck": The COVID-19 Pandemic Through Nurses' Eyes
Podcast recording featuring Mary Wakefield describes the role of nurses and the challenges they have faced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses shortages of personal protective equipment, workforce challenges, vaccine administration, and solutions to support nurses in the future. Highlights the experiences of nurses at rural hospitals and clinics.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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Health Care Utilization and Outcomes Associated with Accidental Poisonous Mushroom Ingestions — United States, 2016–2018
Examines emergency department visits and hospitalizations associated with accidental poisonous mushroom ingestion. Includes data on ED visits in 2016 by location of patient residence for metropolitan areas and for micropolitan and noncore (rural) areas.
Author(s): Jeremy A.W. Gold, Emily Kiernan, Michael Yeh, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 70(10), 337-341
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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The Digital Divide: What Is It, Where Is It, and Federal Assistance Programs
Describes the availability of broadband internet access in the United States by state and across urban, rural, and tribal areas. Outlines federal programs to fund and support broadband infrastructure and deployment.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Medicare Hospital Payments: Adjusting for Variation in Geographic Area Wages
Provides an overview of the use of the hospital wage index applied to the Medicare inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) to account for geographic differences in hospitals' labor costs. Discusses the effect of the wage index on Medicare payments for inpatient hospital services, exceptions to wage index adjustments, and proposals for wage index reforms.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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The Distribution of the General Surgery Workforce in Rural and Urban America in 2019
Explores regional, rural-urban, and intra-rural differences in the supply of general surgeons, using 2019 data. Compares the 2019 findings to results of a similar analysis using 2001 data. Intended to give policymakers, workforce analysts, and medical educators an up-to-date picture of current and long-term trends in supply and distribution of the rural and urban general surgeon workforce. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban, rural, large rural, and small rural locations.
Author(s): Eric H. Larson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, John Kearney, Lisa A. Garberson, Davis G. Patterson
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Trends in Heart Failure-Related Cardiovascular Mortality in Rural Versus Urban United States Counties, 2011–2018: A Cross-Sectional Study
Study comparing rates of cardiovascular disease in rural and urban areas at the county level. Analyzes CDC WONDER data on heart failure deaths related to cardiovascular disease between 2011 and 2018, comparing population demographics, socioeconomic characteristics, risk factor prevalence, and physician density. Discusses issues of access to care in rural areas with high rates of heart failure.
Author(s): Jacob B. Pierce, Nilay S. Shah, Lucia C. Petito, et al.
Citation: PLoS One, 16(3), e0246813
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
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An Emergent Network for the Diffusion of Innovations Among Local Health Departments at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Study examining communication networks among 329 local health departments as a way to assess the impacts of communication networks on community health innovation. Analyzes data from surveys of local health department leadership, comparing responses from leaders in urban and rural areas. Discusses the sharing of information about new public health initiatives, policies, and evidence-based practices.
Author(s): Minwoong Chung, Debra Dekker, Chelsea Gridley-Smith, James W. Dearing
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 18, 200536
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
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Sources of Insurance Coverage in Nonmetropolitan Areas: The Role of Public and Private Insurance Since 2009
Describes regional variation in insurance coverage rates, using the American Community Survey 5-year estimates from 2009-2013 and 2013-2017 to compare types of health insurance coverage for people less than 65 years of age. Features statistics including share of nonmetropolitan nonelderly population per region, health insurance rates for nonelderly with breakdowns by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and source of health insurance for nonelderly by region.
Author(s): Linda Li, Matthew Najarian, Abigail R. Barker, Timothy D. McBride, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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