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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Family Matters in Oral Health: Connecting Children's and Caregivers' Dental Health Habits
Compares data for Colorado children, aged 1 to 14, by parents or caregivers who did and did not see an oral health provider. Examines rural and urban oral health disparities in children, including looking at preventive dental visits and oral health status. Discusses strategies to improve oral health in children.
Author(s): Sara Schmitt
Date: 02/2018
Sponsoring organizations: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado Health Institute
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Rural Family Physicians Have a Broader Scope of Practice than Urban Family Physicians
Results of a study to determine differences between rural and urban family physicians in scope of practice for clinical and procedural care in 2014 and 2015. Features statistics including physician characteristics and percentages of physicians providing various types of services and care, with breakdowns by metropolitan, large rural, small rural, and frontier areas.
Author(s): Lars E. Peterson, Bo Fang
Date: 02/2018
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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Urban-Rural County and State Differences in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease — United States, 2015
Examines rural-urban chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) disparities. Compares age-adjusted COPD prevalence, Medicare hospitalizations for COPD, and mortality for rural, micropolitan, and metropolitan residents. Also includes state-level data on the percentage rural residents and age-adjusted estimates of selected COPD measures.
Author(s): Janet B. Croft, Anne G. Wheaton, Yong Liu, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 67(7), 205-211
Date: 02/2018
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Rural/Urban Disparities in Pneumococcal Vaccine Service Delivery Among the Fee-for-Service Medicare Population
Describes a study to identify disparities in vaccine provision to people ages 65 and over, and to assess the impact of pharmacies as alternate site providers in rural areas. Includes statistics on pneumococcal vaccine services provided by fee-for-service pharmacies and primary care providers, with breakdowns by rural and urban frequency, and a state-level map with rate of service delivery per eligible population, using 2014 data.
Author(s): Jeffery C. Talbert, Aric Schadler, Patricia R. Freeman
Date: 02/2018
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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Differences Between Rural and Urban Areas in Mortality Rates for the Leading Causes of Infant Death: United States, 2013–2015
Examines mortality rates for the five leading causes of infant, neonatal, and postneonatal death for rural, small and medium urban, and large urban counties, based on location of the mother's residence. Causes examined are congenital malformations, low birthweight, sudden infant death syndrome, maternal complications, and unintentional injuries.
Additional links: Questions for the Author, NCHStats blog
Author(s): Danielle M. Ely, Donna L. Hoyert
Date: 02/2018
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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National Trends in Drinking Water Quality Violations
Examines patterns in health-related violations in the Safe Drinking Water Act by analyzing data from 17,900 community water systems from 1982-2015. Identifies vulnerability factors in communities and water systems. Includes a rural and urban comparison of total violations by water system, and provides county-level information on violation hot spots and spatial trends in community water systems.
Author(s): Maura Allaire, Haowei Wu, Upmanu Lall
Citation: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 115(9), 2078-2083
Date: 02/2018
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Inpatient Stays Involving Atrial Fibrillation, 1998-2014
Examines inpatient stays involving atrial fibrillation among adults from 1998 through 2014. Includes data by location of patient residence for large metropolitan, small metropolitan, micropolitan, and rural areas.
Author(s): Elisabeth Kato, Quyen Ngo-Metzger, Kathryn R. Fingar, Kimberly W. McDermott, Anne Elixhauser
Date: 02/2018
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Evaluating Factors Impacting Medication Adherence Among Rural, Urban, and Suburban Populations
Compares medication adherence rates among rural and urban adults. Examines additional factors that may influence adherence, including age, income, and education.
Author(s): Cody Arbuckle, Daniel Tomaszewski, Benjamin D. Aronson, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 34(4), 339-346
Date: 01/2018
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Injection Drug Use and Overdose among Young Adults Who Use Prescription Opioids Non-Medically
Examines the injection drug use of non-medical prescription opioids by young adults, age 18-29, in Rhode Island. Correlates certain characteristics including race, rural residency, homelessness, previous arrests, childhood physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and experiences with accidental overdose to a high prevalence of lifetime injection drug misuse.
Author(s): Elliott J. Liebling, Traci C. Green, Scott E. Hadland, Brandon D.L. Marshall
Citation: Addictive Behaviors, 76, 20-26
Date: 01/2018
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Disproportionately Higher Unintentional Injury Mortality Among Alaska Native People, 2006–2015
Examines the unintentional injury (UI) mortality rates by injury category for Alaska Natives (AN). Compares AN rates with U.S. White (USW) and Alaska White (AKW) UI mortality rates, and analyzes the rate differences by age groups, sexes, and rural, urban, and remote areas in Alaska.
Author(s): Gretchen Day, Peter Holck, Hillary Strayer, Kathryn Koller, Timothy Thomas
Citation: International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 77(1)
Date: 01/2018
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