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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

New York Rural Obstetrical Workforce
Offers maps and tables of the obstetricians and advanced practice midwives workforce distribution in New York in 2025. Includes county-level data and rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): S.C. Woolcock, C.H.A. Andrilla, L.A. Garberson, J.M. Graves
Date: 06/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Pain in the Nation 2026: The Epidemics of Alcohol, Drug, and Suicide Deaths
Report focuses on alcohol, drug, and mortality statistics and trends, with a special feature on suicide and well-being in the United States. Includes data on substance use and mortality, with U.S. maps showing overdose and suicide rates, breakdowns according to metro versus nonmetro location, and state-by-state statistical trends. Provides policy recommendations to address substance use and offers examples from rural areas.
Author(s): Molly Warren, Lauren Battle
Date: 06/2026
Sponsoring organization: Trust for America's Health
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State of Nursing Education In Kansas
Examines the demand for nursing professionals, the state of nursing education, and nursing education pathways in Kansas. Provides demographic data on nursing students as well as location of nursing education programs by city, county, and rural, suburban, or urban location.
Date: 06/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Kansas Nursing Workforce Center, University of Kansas Medical Center
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A Study Pursuant to (Pennsylvania) Senate Resolution 27: Feasibility of a No-Fault Catastrophic Loss Fund for Birth-Related Neurological Injuries
Results of a study on the possibility of establishing a fund for claims brought due to birth-related neurological injuries in Pennsylvania. Discusses the disparity between obstetric care in urban and rural areas and the decreased access to maternity care due to closures of labor and delivery (L&D) units. Contains various statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural areas, and county-level maps showing availability of L&D units and travel times to birthing hospitals.
Author(s): Stevi Sprenkle, Stephen Kramer, Shanika Mitchell-Saint Jean, Amy Hockenberry, James Wynne
Date: 05/2026
Sponsoring organization: Legislative Budget and Finance Committee of the Pennsylvania General Assembly
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North Carolina Mental Health & Substance Use Services Workforce Data 2024 Snapshot: Mental Health & Substance Use Services Registered Nurses & Licensed Practical Nurses
Presents statistics on North Carolina mental health and substance use services nurses, including demographics, rate per 10,000 population with breakdowns by metro and nonmetro areas, and a county-level map showing rate per 10,000 population as of 2024.
Author(s): B.M. Lombardi, J. Headley, M.P. Jimenez, et al.
Date: 05/2026
Sponsoring organizations: The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center
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North Carolina Mental Health & Substance Use Services Workforce Data 2024 Snapshot: Licensed Recreational Therapists and Assistants
Presents statistics on North Carolina licensed recreational therapists and assistants, including demographics, rate per 10,000 population with breakdowns by metro and nonmetro areas, and a county-level map showing rate per 10,000 population as of 2024.
Author(s): B.M. Lombardi, J. Headley, M.P. Jimenez, et al.
Date: 05/2026
Sponsoring organizations: The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center
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Victimization At and Away From School Among Students Ages 12 to 18, 2014-2024 - Statistical Tables
Describes theft and nonfatal violent victimization rates among students aged between 12 and 18 both at and away from school between 2014 and 2024. Compares rural, suburban, and urban data in Table 1 and Appendix Tables 7 and 9.
Author(s): Erin Tinney
Date: 05/2026
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Justice
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Preliminary Birth Report Kansas, 2025
Provides 2025 county-level data on live births and maternal age in Kansas, with further breakdowns by frontier, rural, densely-settled rural, semi-urban, and urban location.
Author(s): David Oakley, Christina Smith
Date: 05/2026
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Department of Health and Environment
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Rural‐Urban and Racial‐Ethnic Differences in Tele‐Behavioral Health Access for Medicaid Beneficiaries
Examines how rural versus urban and racial and ethnic tele-behavioral health access varied before and during the early COVID-19 pandemic in New Mexico, using March 2019-March 2021 Medicaid claims data. Includes data comparisons of telehealth and in-person visits by demographic group, type of behavioral health service received, and level of broadband connectivity.
Author(s): Margaret Greenwood-Ericksen, Mohammed Quazi, Chloe Slator, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 42(2), e70155
Date: 05/2026
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Pre-Licensure Registered Nurse Education in South Carolina | 2020-2024
Describes trends in South Carolina's pre-licensure RN education from 2020-2024. Highlights the number and type of programs, enrollment and graduation trends, faculty characteristics, and licensure exam outcomes. Features statistics and a county-level map showing locations and types of programs as of 2024, with shading indicating rural counties.
Author(s): C. Campbell, M. Fluharty, C. Palmer
Date: 05/2026
Sponsoring organization: South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium
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