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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Rural–Urban Disparities in Adverse Maternal Outcomes in the United States, 2016–2019
Analyzes maternal mortality and admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU) in rural and urban areas in the U.S. between 2016 and 2019. Utilizes Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) to examine rural versus urban maternal health disparities.
Author(s): Katharine A. Harrington, Natalie A. Cameron, Kasen Culler, William A. Grobman, Sadiya S. Khan
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 113(2)
Date: 01/2023
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A Disaggregated View of Market Concentration in the Food Retail Industry
Examines changes in food retailing market concentration at the national, state, Metropolitan Statistical Area, and county levels in the United States from 1990-2019, using data from the National Establishment Time Series dataset. Features statistics with breakdowns by metro, large nonmetro, small nonmetro, and rural areas.
Author(s): Eliana Zeballos, Xiao Dong, Ergys Islamaj
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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COVID-19 Mortality Rates across Noncore, Micropolitan, and Metropolitan Counties by Community Characteristics, December 2020-January 2021
Explores differences in COVID-19 mortality rates across rural-urban designations and stratifications by geography, county-level sociodemographic factors, and county-level healthcare factors. Features statistics on mortality rates by rurality and U.S. census region, racial/ethnic composition, and ICU and nursing home bed density, as well as state-level maps showing mortality rates per 100,000 with breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
Author(s): Whitney E. Zahnd, Khyathi Gadag, Fred Ullrich, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Problems Paying Medical Bills: United States, 2021
Reports data on families facing problems paying medical bills by selected sociodemographic and geographic characteristics. Table 2 includes data for metropolitan and nonmetro areas.
Author(s): Robin A. Cohen, Amy E. Cha,
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Rural Federally Qualified Health Centers Financial and Operational Performance Analysis 2018-2021
Examines financial and operational characteristics of rural Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) from 2018-2021. Explores FQHC growth and expansion, patient and payer mix, revenue and growth mix, financial performance, quality of care, and more. Compares data on rural FQHCs to urban and national FQHC data. Requires name, email address, and organization information to download.
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: Capital Link
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Unmet Needs for Help with Mobility Limitations among Older Adults Aging in Place: The Role of Rurality
Examines unmet mobility needs related to issues of access and appropriate housing in older adult populations. Analyzes data from 3,343 respondents of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) by various sociodemographic factors. Includes differences in health characteristics, fall history, and unmet needs with data broken down by rural versus urban location.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Megan Lahr, John Mulcahy, Hannah MacDougall
Citation: Journal of Aging and Health, 35(9)
Date: 01/2023
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Who Cannot Afford to Pay Medical Bills in the North Central Region?
Reports on survey respondents from the North Central Region who struggled to pay bills within the last 12 months. Provides data by state, health status, income level, employment status, business type, business profitability, household type, marital status, sex, age, and race/ethnicity. Some of the demographic groups are further broken down by rural versus urban location.
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: North Central Regional Center for Rural Development
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Vaccination Coverage by Age 24 Months Among Children Born During 2018–2019 — National Immunization Survey–Child, United States, 2019–2021
Examines vaccination coverage for selected vaccines and doses among children born in 2018-2019. Supplementary Table 2 includes data for metropolitan and nonmetro areas.
Additional links: Supplementary Table 2
Author(s): Holly A. Hill, Michael Chen, Laurie D. Elam-Evans, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 72(2), 33-38
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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A Study of Arizona Physician Relocation Patterns by Rurality and Primary Care Status
Results of a study examining Arizona physician locations, relocation patterns, and factors associated with relocating between 2014-2019. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by urban, large rural, and small rural areas.
Author(s): Benjamin R. Brady, Bryna Koch, Dexter L. Gulick, Heather Carter, Daniel J. Derksen
Citation: Family Medicine, 55(1), 20-26
Date: 01/2023
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Examining Rural Telehealth During the Public Health Emergency
Examines the use of telehealth visits for rural and urban fee-for-service Medicare enrollees between January 2018 and June 2021. Compares telehealth utilization before the COVID-19 pandemic (2018-2019) with telehealth utilization from January 2020 to June 2021. Describes the demographic, geographical, and technological characteristics of telehealth services that were associated with increased telehealth use. Explores the extent to which the increased implementation and utilization of telehealth during the PHE impacted the cost of patient care and provider utilization.
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare
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