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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Rural Individuals' Telehealth Practices: An Overview
Compares rural and urban use of online health monitoring, online health research, and online health maintenance, which includes communication with healthcare providers. Provides breakdowns by sociodemographic factors. Briefly addresses access to technology, including internet availability.
Additional links: Report Summary
Author(s): Peter L. Stenberg
Date: 11/2018
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Surveillance for Cancers Associated with Tobacco Use — United States, 2010–2014
Reports on tobacco-associated cancer incidence for lung, bronchial, and tracheal cancers; laryngeal cancer; oral cavity and pharyngeal cancers; esophageal cancer; stomach cancer; colon and rectal cancers; liver cancer; pancreatic cancer; kidney and renal pelvis cancers; urinary bladder cancer; cervical cancer; and acute myeloid leukemia. Includes data for metropolitan and nonmetro counties, as well as by sex, age, tumor characteristics, U.S. census region, state, and other demographics.
Author(s): M. Shayne Gallaway, S. Jane Henley, C. Brooke Steele, et al.
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 67(12), 1-42
Date: 11/2018
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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The State of Rural Health in Illinois: Great Challenges and a Path Forward
Provides information and statistics regarding rural health issues in Illinois, including healthcare shortages, opioid mortality rates, childhood abuse and dysfunction, obesity rates, housing, and more. Discusses relevant strategies to address these issues.
Date: 10/2018
Sponsoring organization: Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
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Community Perspectives on Emergency Department Use and Care for American Indian Children
Explores parental and community perspectives of pediatric emergency department (ED) use for American Indian (AI) populations. Utilizes qualitative data from 70 parents who participated in focus groups to report on issues such as healthcare access, healthcare environment, and culturally insensitive interactions with professionals. Includes participants from both rural and urban areas and presents differentiated experiences according to location.
Author(s): Wyatt J. Pickner, Katherine M. Ziegler, Jessica D. Hanson, et al.
Citation: Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 5(5), 939-946
Date: 10/2018
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Understanding Infant and Toddler Child Care Deserts
Examines the availability of licensed infant-toddler child care in 9 states and the District of Columbia, with a focus on how rural communities are disproportionately impacted by a limited or complete lack of access to childcare services. Features discussion on consequences of childcare deserts and offers policy recommendations to increase the supply of licensed child care.
Author(s): Steven Jessen-Howard, Rasheed Malik, Simon Workman, Katie Hamm
Date: 10/2018
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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Evidence Review — Social Determinants of Health for Veterans
Reports findings from a literature review of studies focused on social determinants of health for veterans. Summarizes study characteristics, social determinants addressed, and whether health behaviors, health services utilization, and health outcomes were examined.
Author(s): Wei Duan-Porter, Brian C. Martinson, Nancy Greer, et al.
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 33(10), 1785-1795
Date: 10/2018
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Geographic Representativeness of a Web-Based Smoking Cessation Intervention: Reach Equity Analysis
Compares the use of a web-based smoking cessation program by 67,854 users across large metro, small metro, and nonmetro populations throughout the United States between 2013 and 2017. Examines if the location of program participants is proportional to the national smoking population.
Author(s): Michael S. Amato, Amanda L. Graham
Citation: Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(10), e11668
Date: 10/2018
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Utilization and Adherence in Medical Homes: An Assessment of Rural-Urban Differences for People with Severe Mental Illness
Discusses whether enrollment in medical homes improves care in rural versus urban settings for people with severe mental illness (SMI). Examines utilization measures of primary care, mental health, emergency department, inpatient hospitalizations, and medication adherence using data derived from North Carolina Medicaid claims from 2004–2007.
Author(s): Mona Kilany, Joseph P. Morrissey, Marisa Elena Domino, et al.
Citation: Medical Care, 56(10), 870-876
Date: 10/2018
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Suicide and Firearm Injury in Utah: Linking Data to Save Lives
Report highlights data pertaining to suicides, homicides, and injuries from firearms in Utah. Compares data between rural and metro areas on a number of measures, such as suicides among youth, firearm ownership and storage, and suicide completion rates, among others.
Date: 10/2018
Sponsoring organization: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
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Patchwork of Contrasting Medication Cultures Across the USA
Examines differences in prescribing patterns by geographic area, including rural/urban comparisons. Compares opioid prescribing patterns with state drug monitoring programs, disease-associated drug use with relevant death rates, use of brand versus generic drugs, and the impact of insurance rates, poverty, and race/ethnicity.
Author(s): Rachel D. Melamed, Andrey Rzhetsky
Citation: Nature Communications, 9, 4022
Date: 10/2018
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