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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Washington State's 1115 Family Planning Demonstration Evaluation - Findings from January 2012 to May 2018
Report highlights data pertaining to family planning waiver enrollment in Washington state from 2012 to 2018. Breaks down waivers issued for low income, high income, and pregnancy-related reasons and compares rural and urban populations.
Author(s): Tenaya Sunbury, Dorothy Lyons, Z. Joyce Fan, et al.
Date: 12/2020
Sponsoring organization: Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
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How to Design Value‐based Care Models for Rural Participant Success: A Summit Findings Report
Summarizes a July 2020 virtual summit of rural participants in value‐based care (VBC) models and programs. Details six themes on VBC model design, implementation, and operation that can influence rural organization participation in VBC models. Provides recommendations for VBC model designers to improve rural healthcare provider participation and success in VBC models.
Author(s): Keith Mueller, Clint MacKinney, Jennifer Lundblad, Karla Weng
Date: 12/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Telehealth Practice Among Health Centers During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, July 11–17, 2020
Reports health center telehealth services based on a July 11–17, 2020 survey of Health Resources and Services Administration–funded health centers. Includes data for urban and rural locations. Discusses barriers that rural health centers face in expanding telehealth, including broadband access, lack of partners, and logistics.
Author(s): Hanna B. Demeke, Leah Zilversmit Pao, Hollie Clark, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 69(50), 1902-1905
Date: 12/2020
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Examining Rural Hospital Bypass for Inpatient Services
Explores the drivers of rural hospital bypass for inpatient services. Examines demographic characteristics, why patients bypassed their nearest rural hospital, how the local supply of healthcare services affects rural hospital bypass, and if health insurance networks or cost affect the decision to bypass rural hospitals.
Date: 12/2020
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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How Might Internet Connectivity Affect Health Care Access?
Describes how a lack of internet access may negatively impact access to healthcare. Features data and statistics on internet access, with information broken down by race/ethnicity, age, poverty level, insurance status and type, and metropolitan/nonmetropolitan location. Discusses COVID-19 and how social distancing measures have led to increased implementation of telehealth, resulting in additional challenges accessing healthcare among people with little to no internet connectivity.
Author(s): Krutika Amin, Matthew Rae, Giorlando Ramirez, Cynthia Cox
Date: 12/2020
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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An Evidence-Based Walking Program in Oregon Communities: Step It Up! Survivors
Describes the implementation and effectiveness of Step It Up! Survivors (SIUS), an evidence-based program designed to help promote social connections and increase physical activity among cancer survivors and their family and friends. Discusses the acceptability, feasibility, cost, sustainability, and other factors associated with implementing SIUS in Oregon, including responses from 6 rural organizations.
Author(s): Cynthia K. Perry, Laura P. Campbell, Jessica Currier, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 17
Date: 12/2020
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Emergency Department Visits Involving Influenza and Influenza-Like Illnesses, 2016–2018
Presents statistics on influenza-like illness (ILI)-related emergency department (ED) visits in 34 states and the District of Columbia from 2016 through 2018. Includes data by location of patient's residence for metropolitan, rural metropolitan-adjacent, and rural remote areas, as well as a state-by-state map indicating the patient residence location where the rate of ED visits was highest.
Author(s): Lawrence D. Reid, Kathryn R. Fingar
Date: 12/2020
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Association of CMS-HCC Risk Scores with Health Care Utilization among Rural and Urban Medicare Beneficiaries
Research brief exploring healthcare utilization by rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries in order to better understand CMS Hierarchical Condition Categories (HCCs) and accurately apply the CMS-HCC risk score model. Analyzes 2014 CMS-HCC risk score data for different healthcare outcomes, including inpatient and outpatient ER visits, acute inpatient stays, and hospital readmissions, comparing rural and urban populations.
Author(s): Tyler Malone, Denise Kirk, Randy Randolph, Kristin Reiter
Date: 12/2020
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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CMS Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) 2014 Risk Scores Are Lower for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries than for Urban Beneficiaries
Research brief discussing the Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) risk adjustment model developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), comparing data on metropolitan, micropolitan, and non-core regions. Presents data on beneficiary distribution, average risk scores, risk scores by race/ethnicity, and healthcare utilization using 2014 CMS Risk Score Files, which were the only data available.
Author(s): Tyler Malone, Denise Kirk, Randy Randolph, Kristin Reiter
Date: 12/2020
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Characteristics of Residential Care Communities by Percentage of Resident Population Diagnosed With Dementia: United States, 2016
Examines characteristics of residential care communities and their residents by the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Includes dementia prevalence data for metropolitan and nonmetro areas.
Author(s): Manisha Sengupta, Christine Caffrey
Date: 12/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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