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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

QuickStats: Rates of Death Due to Unintentional Injury from Fire or Flames, by Sex and Urbanization Level — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2021
Bar chart showing male and female death rates due to fire or flames for noncore, micropolitan, and metropolitan areas.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 72(14), 377
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Rural-Urban Trends in Health Care Utilization, Treatment, and Mortality Among US Veterans with Congestive Heart Failure: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Examines Veterans Health Administration patients between 2012 and 2017 with congestive heart failure. Data compare rural and urban differences in healthcare use, treatment received, and mortality with consideration for severity of diagnosis.
Author(s): Maya Aboumrad, David Peritz, Scott Friedman, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(4), 844-852
Date: 04/2023
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Availability of Healthcare Providers in Rural Areas Lags That of Urban Areas
Bar chart showing metro and nonmetro primary care physicians, dentists, and other healthcare professionals per 10,000 residents.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Changes in Marketplace Premiums and Insurer Participation, 2022-2023
Examines changes in Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Marketplace premiums and insurer participation between 2022 and 2023. Reports on changes in average lowest silver premiums in the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces from 2019 to 2022 by state. Includes tables for select states with select urban and rural regional data.
Author(s): John Holahan, Erik Wengle, Claire O'Brien
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Urban Institute
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COVID-19 Hospitalization Trends in Rural Versus Urban Areas in the United States
Examines disparities in COVID-19 hospitalization rates between rural and urban areas in six states from May 1, 2020, to July 1, 2021. Describes differences in occupancy rates between rural and urban hospitals during the same period. Presents data by week and cumulatively over time.
Author(s): Yi Zhu, Caitlin Carroll, Khoa Vu, et al.
Citation: Medical Care Research and Review, 80(2), 236-244
Date: 04/2023
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Inequitable Access to General and Behavioral Healthcare in the US During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Role for Telehealth?
Examines general and behavioral healthcare access and disparities during the first year of the pandemic, using data from the 2019–2020 U.S. National Alcohol Survey and its COVID follow-up survey conducted January 30 to March 28, 2021. Explores the role of telehealth in providing an important bridge to healthcare for certain medically underserved groups during the pandemic. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Author(s): Nina Mulia, Yu Ye, Thomas K. Greenfield, et al.
Citation: Preventive Medicine, 169
Date: 04/2023
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Geographic Diffusion of Digital Mammography in the United States
Examines the geographic availability of digital mammography facilities from 2001 to 2014 in the contiguous United States, utilizing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) facility licensing and American Community Survey demographic data. Compares availability of digital and film mammography by race, ethnicity, and level of rurality.
Author(s): Daniel Wiese, Antoinette M. Stroup, Farhad Islami, et al.
Citation: Cancer, 129(14), 2144-2151
Date: 03/2023
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Drug Overdoses in Rural and Urban Pennsylvania: A Progress Report
Assesses the change in the number of reported overdoses in rural and urban Pennsylvania from 2018 to 2022, using data from the Pennsylvania State Police's Overdose Information Network. Features a county-level map showing reported overdoses per 100,000 residents in 2022, and includes statistics on ages of rural overdose victims and overdose survival rates, percentages of overdose victims receiving naloxone, and post-naloxone actions, with breakdowns by urban or rural area.
Date: 03/2023
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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The Interaction of Rurality and Rare Cancers for Travel Time to Cancer Care
Explores the connection between rurality and travel time to receive treatment for rare cancers. Breaks down data by patient characteristics, such as age and rurality, among other measures. Compares rare cancers with common cancers and by treatment type.
Author(s): Tracy Onega, Jennifer Alford-Teaster, Chris Leggett, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(2), 426-433
Date: 03/2023
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Understanding Flexible Rural Career Pathways
Describes career pathways in rural areas with a focus on place-based approaches, rural student contexts, partner and workforce collaboration, real-world experience, and interventions in career development. Includes data on rural versus urban comparisons of courses offered at school, levels of educational attainment, and more.
Author(s): Catharine Warner-Griffin and Jenni Liveoak
Date: 03/2023
Sponsoring organization: Education Innovation and Research Program
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