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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Washington State's 2019 Licensed Practical Nurse Workforce
Highlights the licensed practical nurse (LPN) workforce supply in the state of Washington in 2019. Explores the demographics, distribution, education, and work setting of LPNs using data collected from a survey conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and from state license renewals.
Additional links: Supplemental Report
Author(s): Benjamin A. Stubbs, Susan M. Skillman
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Integrating Rural into the New Reality of Healthcare
Discusses service consolidations implemented by healthcare systems to control costs, and examines the resulting cuts to rural healthcare services, especially in Minnesota. Offers recommendations to help policymakers respond to the negative effects of healthcare acquisitions and mergers on healthcare access in rural communities. Includes rural/urban comparisons on profit margins for hospitals, patient demographics, miles traveled for inpatient and outpatient services, and more.
Additional links: Webinar Recording
Author(s): Kelly Asche, Marnie Werner
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Policy and Development
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National Trends in the Safety Performance of Electronic Health Record Systems From 2009 to 2018
Evaluates safety performance of electronic health records (EHRs) to prevent potential adverse drug effects (ADEs), assesses hospital EHR safety performance for specific subcategories of potential ADEs, and examines the associations of EHR vendors with safety performance. Features statistics including characteristics of surveyed hospitals, such as hospital size and urban or rural location.
Author(s): David C. Classen, A. Jay Holmgren, Zoe Co, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 3(5), e205547
Date: 05/2020
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Hospital Burden of Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays: Metropolitan and Rural Hospitals, 2016
Examines burden on hospitals of opioid-related hospitalizations for metropolitan, rural-adjacent to metro, and rural remote hospitals. Includes data by region. Provides detailed information by urban-rural location, including information on the distribution of opioid-related stays, bed size, and occupancy level.
Author(s): Pamela L. Owens, Audrey J. Weiss, Marguerite L. Barrett
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Infection Control Deficiencies Were Widespread and Persistent in Nursing Homes Prior to COVID-19 Pandemic
Explores the prevalence of infection prevention and control deficiencies in nursing homes prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Examines the percentage of nursing homes that had deficiencies cited in multiple years. Provides charts noting the number of nursing homes with an infection prevention and control deficiency by state. Includes a chart that presents the data by urban and rural status.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Access to Medicare Part D Plans: A Comparison of Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas
Policy brief focusing on the types of Medicare Part D plans offered in metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore locations. Offers comparisons between stand-alone plans and Medicare Advantage plans, in terms of premiums, benefits, and the manner in which these plans are offered.
Author(s): Mochamad Nataliansyah, Abiodun Salako, Fred Ullrich, Keith Mueller
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Partnering for Impact: Early Insights from the Accountable Health Communities Model
Provides an overview of the November 11-12, 2019, CMS Accountable Health Communities (AHC) meeting. Summarizes sessions on engaging with Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries with unique needs, AHC models, addressing service gaps in quality improvement plans, and more. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Rural Connections: Challenges and Opportunities in America's Heartland
Examines rural transportation challenges, including decreased state transportation revenues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, higher traffic fatality rates compared to urban settings, poor road and bridge conditions, and more. Comments on the importance of rural transportation for the nation's economy, emphasizing its role in transferring goods and helping rural communities access healthcare, education, job opportunities, and social services.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Transportation Research Nonprofit (TRIP)
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Rural-Urban Residence and Mortality among Three Cohorts of U.S. Adults
Reports on a study to address gaps in what is known of the rural-urban mortality disparity by analyzing time-to-event birth cohorts using data from the 1997-2009 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) linking deaths through December 2011. Results of this study may identify potential policy and practice interventions to reduce the disparity in rural-urban mortality.
Author(s): Erika C. Ziller, Jennifer D. Lenardson, Katherine Ahrens M.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Beyond Opioids: Rapid Increase in Drug Deaths Involving Stimulants
Presents a breakdown of drug related deaths involving stimulants. Features a number of charts highlighting the data, including rural and urban, regional, and national comparisons.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation
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