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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Texas Emergency Medical Services Personnel, 2020: Trends, Distribution, and Demographics
Fact sheet showing emergency medical services (EMS) personnel growth trends, geographic distribution by county and ratio of population to EMS personnel by metropolitan, non-metropolitan, border, and non-border geography, provider demographics by race/ethnicity, age, sex, and license type.
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organization: Texas Health and Human Services
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Veterans' Use of Veterans Health Administration Primary Care in an Era of Expanding Choice
Characterizes and compares veterans' use of Veterans Health Administration (VA) primary care services at VA facilities and through a VA community care network (VA-CCN) provider, using data from fiscal years 2015-2018. Features statistics including patient characteristics by primary care venue and odds of having any VA-CCN primary care, with breakdowns by urban, rural, or highly rural location.
Author(s): Denise M. Hynes, Samuel Edwards, Alex Hickok, et al.
Citation: Medical Care, 59(6), S292-S300
Date: 06/2021
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County-level Predictors of Growth in Community-based Primary Care Use Among Veterans
Measures county-level growth in Veterans Health Administration (VA) community-based primary care (CBPC) penetration following enactment of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act, and assesses whether CBPC penetration increased in rural counties with limited access to VA facilities. Features statistics on county-level CBCP rates and characteristics of counties with high or low growth in penetration rates, with breakdowns by urban, rural, and highly rural locations.
Author(s): Sarah H. Gordon, Erin Beilstein-Wedel, Amy K. Rosen, et al.
Citation: Medical Care, 59(6), S301-S306
Date: 06/2021
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Did Access to Care Improve Since Passage of the Veterans Choice Act?: Differences Between Rural and Urban Veterans
Examines wait times among rural and urban veterans for physical therapy, cardiology, optometry, orthopedic, and dental services. Features demographic statistics for fiscal year (FY) 2015 with breakdowns by rural or urban patients, and average consult wait times during FY 2015 and FY 18 with breakdowns by urban or rural location, service types, and care settings.
Author(s): Deborah Gurewich, Michael Schwartz, Erin Beilstein-Wedel, Heather Davila, Amy K. Rosen
Citation: Medical Care, 59(6), S270-S278
Date: 06/2021
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Rural Veterans' Experiences With Outpatient Care in the Veterans Health Administration Versus Community Care
Compares rural veterans' experiences with community care (CC) and Veterans Administration (VA) outpatient healthcare services to those of urban veterans, and examines changes over time. Features demographic statistics with breakdowns by rural CC and rural VA patients, and ratings for 4 healthcare experiences and outcome measures for rural and urban veterans in fiscal years 2016 and 2019.
Author(s): Heather Davila, Amy K. Rosen, Erin Beilstein-Wedel, et al.
Citation: Medical Care, 59, S286-S291
Date: 06/2021
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Vermont Baseline Needs Assessment: Rural and Non-Rural Practitioners
Report details a needs assessment of Vermont's practitioners' capacity to treat substance use disorder (SUD) and compares rural and urban counties. Breaks down workforce distribution by county, by rural versus urban, and by the type of SUD treatment they are able to provide, as well as their MAT waiver status, among other measures.
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organization: University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
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Urban–Rural Mortality Disparities from Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases in the United States, 1999–2019
Letter to the editor presenting data on chronic lower respiratory disease mortality between 1999 and 2019, including a population breakdown by 6 levels of metro and nonmetro status, using the CDC WONDER database. Discusses rural disparities in mortality and charts mortality trends over time.
Author(s): Paul A. Reyfman, Basil Khuder, Jacob B. Pierce, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 203(11), 1435-1437
Date: 06/2021
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Multilevel Modeling of County-Level Excessive Alcohol Use, Rurality, and COVID-19 Case Fatality Rates in the US
Presents a study on the relationship between COVID-19 outcomes and elevated alcohol use in rural counties. Looks at levels of alcohol use and misuse in rural counties prior to the pandemic and compares it with COVID-19 mortality data. Breaks down data by rurality and alcohol use while controlling for other comorbidities such as obesity, smoking, and being over the age of 65.
Author(s): George Pro, Paul A. Gilbert, Julie A. Baldwin, et al.
Citation: PLOS ONE, 16(6), e0253466
Date: 06/2021
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Super Stores' Impact on the Availability of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Approved Stores
Examines the effect of new super stores on the survival of existing traditional stores and the cost savings accruing to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries. Features statistics including SNAP redemptions and share of redemptions by store type from 1992–2017, and impact of super store entry on the number of SNAP-approved stores with breakdowns by urban and rural areas.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Michael Ollinger, Michele Ver Ploeg, Chris Dicken
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Suicide Trends and Prevention in Rural Pennsylvania Counties and Schools
Examines the overall trends in suicide in Pennsylvania from 1990 to 2018 and the suicide prevention programs currently used by counties and in K-12 school districts. Features statistics comparing suicide rates in United States and Pennsylvania, suicide rates in Pennsylvania and predictors of suicide with breakdowns by rural and urban counties, and county-level maps showing rates of suicide per 100,000 and change in suicide rates from 1999-2018.
Author(s): Daniel J. Mallinson, Eunsil Yoo, Brandon Cruz
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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