Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Health Equity Series: Food Insecurity
Reports on disparities related to food security in Missouri. Includes a brief history of the topic and a discussion on food access. Covers other socio-economic factors that can contribute to food insecurity. Sections 15 and 20 focus specifically on rural versus urban comparisons.
Author(s): Cindy Calender
Date: 12/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Missouri Foundation for Health
view details
DataGram: Obesity Rates in Rural and Urban Pennsylvania
Provides statistics on obesity rates in Pennsylvania from 2004-2012, with breakdowns by rural and urban areas.
Date: 12/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
view details
QuickStats: Percentage of U.S. Adults Who Looked up Health Information on the Internet in the Past Year, by Type of Locality - National Health Interview Survey, 2012–2014
Bar chart showing the percentage of adults who searched for health information online, comparing rates for those living in metropolitan and nonmetro counties.
Author(s): Deborah D. Ingram, Shilpa Bengeri
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 64(49), 1367
Date: 12/2015
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
view details
Travel Distance Study for Rural/Competitive Bid Area/Neither Rural nor CBA Census Tracts to Hospitals and Home Medical Equipment Suppliers: Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Measures rural populations' proximity to hospitals and home medical equipment suppliers in Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin in comparison with their urban counterparts.
Date: 12/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Northern Iowa Geoinformatics Training, Research, Education, and Extension (GeoTREE) Center
view details
Syringe Service Programs for Persons Who Inject Drugs in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas - United States, 2013
Describes characteristics of syringe service programs in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Includes information on program size, number of syringes exchanged, total funding, and whether public funding supports the program. Discusses the increase in opiate overdoses and prescription opiate use in rural areas and concerns related to the availability of syringe exchange programs in these areas.
Author(s): Don C. Des Jarlais, Ann Nugent, Alisa Solberg, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 64(48), 1337-41
Date: 12/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
view details
Schools Vary - And That Means Meal Costs Vary Too
Examines school meal costs and identifies factors that affect per-meal costs, including the school food authority's location, size, and balance between the number of lunches and breakfasts served. Includes data on school meal costs for rural, suburban, and urban schools.
Author(s): Joanne Guthrie, Michael Ollinger
Citation: Amber Waves
Date: 12/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
view details
Characteristics and Quality of Inpatient Stays at Hospitals Affiliated with Health Systems, 2009-2012
Compares hospitals in centrally organized multihospital systems, noncentralized systems, and independent hospitals. Looks at rural-urban location, region, bed size, other hospital and patient characteristics, and mortality rates for selected conditions.
Author(s): Brian Moore, Zeynal Karaca, Rachel Mosher Henke, Herbert Wong
Date: 12/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
view details
Development and Validation of a Farmers' Market Audit Tool in Rural and Urban Communities
Describes a tool designed to measure availability of food items and key characteristics of farmers' markets. Features statistics from 6 test sites in Kentucky, Montana, and North Carolina, showing differences among states and between urban and rural locations.
Author(s): Carmen Byker Shanks, Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, Alison Gustafson
Citation: Health Promotion Practice, 16(6), 859-866
Date: 11/2015
Type: Document
view details
Is Availability of Mammography Services at Federally Qualified Health Centers Associated with Breast Cancer Mortality-to-Incidence Ratios? An Ecological Analysis
Explores associations access to mammography services at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and breast cancer mortality-to-incidence ratios in every county in the United States using 2006-2010 data from the National Cancer Institute State Cancer Profile. Figure 1 illustrates FQHCs and breast cancer mortality-to-incidence ratios.
Author(s): Swann Arp Adams, Seul Ki Choi, Jan M. Eberth, et al.
Citation: Journal of Women's Health, 24(11), 916-923
Date: 11/2015
Type: Document
view details
Rural Adults Delay, Forego, and Strategize to Afford Their Pre-ACA Health Care
Provides an in-depth discussion regarding rural and urban adults under the age of 65 and their perceptions of the affordability of health insurance coverage and health services prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Author(s): Erika C. Ziller, Jennifer D. Lenardson, Andrew F. Coburn
Date: 11/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
view details