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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

An Evaluation Report: Senior Food-Assistance, Related Programming, and Seniors' Experiences Across the Feeding America Network
Discusses characteristics of 17 food bank programs in rural and urban areas of 9 states, through interviews, observations, and document reviews. Examines challenges faced by food-insecure rural seniors and profiles food-assistance programs in rural areas of Montana, Alabama, and Minnesota.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Edward A. Frongillo, Andrea M. Warren
Date: 04/2019
Sponsoring organization: Feeding America
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Preventive Health Service Use among Rural Women
A study of national data to understand whether health status and sociodemographic characteristics explain the differences in use of preventive services among women in rural and urban areas from 2014-2016. Features statistics including receipt of various services, health status indicators, sociodemographic characteristics, and predictions of women's health service receipt, with breakdowns by rural or urban residence.
Author(s): Erika Ziller, Jennifer Lenardson, Nathan Paluso, Jaclyn Janis
Date: 04/2019
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Using Population Health Measures to Evaluate the Environmental Burden of Cancer at the County Level
Results of a study using population health indicators and county-level factor analysis to examine rates of cancer from 2010 to 2014. Includes maps with shadings to show burden index and age-adjusted cancer mortality rates. Variables included poverty, income, food insecurity, isolation in rural areas, and long commutes.
Author(s): Lia C. Scott, Lawrence E. Barker, Lisa C. Richardson
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 16
Date: 04/2019
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Trends in Emergency Department Use by Rural and Urban Populations in the United States
Describes urban and rural differences in emergency department (ED) use from January 2005 to December 2016. Features statistics including demographics, payers, and characteristics of care, such as trends in ambulatory care–sensitive conditions and ED safety-net status.
Author(s): Margaret B. Greenwood-Ericksen, Keith Kocher
Citation: JAMA Network Open 2(4)
Date: 04/2019
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Health Insurance in Rural America
A set of interactive graphics providing urban and rural uninsured rates for people under age 65, based on data from the Small Area Health Insurance Estimates. Includes county-level data for 2017 and the change since 2013.
Date: 04/2019
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Patterns of Care and Home Health Utilization for Community-Admitted Medicare Patients
Focuses on differences between community-admitted and post-acute care Medicare home health patients over time in order to identify reasons for the increase in community-admitted patients. Addresses differences in rural/urban residency in Tables B.1. and E.1., as well as whether the county of residence is a primary care shortage area.
Author(s): Andrea Wysocki, Valerie Cheh
Date: 04/2019
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Electronic Capabilities for Patient Engagement among U.S. Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals: 2013-2017
Describes hospital trends regarding patients' ability to view, download, and transmit (VDT) electronic health information and other capabilities related to online patient engagement. Provides data and analysis by hospital type, including Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and rural hospitals, on the percent of: hospitals where patients can VDT their health data electronically; active patient portals; and hospitals offering electronic capabilities to their patients, such as refill requests, bill pay, and other services.
Author(s): JaWanna Henry, Wes Barker, Lolita Kachay
Date: 04/2019
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Oral Health: Targeting Rural Areas
Compiles articles from a special issue of the Texas Public Health Journal focusing on rural oral health in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Covers emergency department use in Texas for oral health needs in rural versus urban counties, geriatric oral health and workforce options such as teledentistry, a Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment project under a state waiver targeting rural communities, partnerships to reach underserved areas and pregnant women, and oral health initiatives in Louisiana and Oklahoma.
Citation: Texas Public Health Journal, 71(2), 2-16
Date: 04/2019
Sponsoring organization: Texas Public Health Association
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Poverty Rates in Rural and Urban Areas Vary Across U.S. Regions
Bar chart showing rural and urban poverty rates by region for the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West, based on 2013-2017 American Community Survey data.
Date: 04/2019
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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User Engagement Associated with Web-Intervention Features to Attain Clinically Meaningful Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance in Rural Women
Discusses messaging and tracking features within web-based weight loss interventions and their efficacy in achieving clinically meaningful short-term and longer-term weight loss in 201 women living in rural Nebraska. Explores the web-based intervention's potential as a telemedicine option in rural areas.
Author(s): Patricia A. Hageman, Joseph E. Mroz, Michael A. Yoerger, Carol H. Pullen
Citation: Journal of Obesity, 2019
Date: 03/2019
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