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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

The Contributions of Socioeconomic and Opioid Supply Factors to Geographic Variation in U.S. Drug Mortality Rates
Features a study on the geographic variation in opioid overdose mortality. Compares rates of drug mortality from 2000-2002 with 2014-2016 and looks at socioeconomic factors, as well as rural versus urban location.
Author(s): Shannon M. Monnat
Date: 01/2019
Sponsoring organization: Institute for New Economic Thinking
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Advancing Tobacco Prevention and Control in Rural America
Discusses different contexts for rural tobacco prevention and control, such as sociodemographic risk factors, culture, and infrastructure. Includes statistics on the national prevalence of tobacco users in the past month by rural and urban adults. Describes 3 types of tobacco control and prevention efforts in rural areas: cessation, prevention of initiation, and smoke free air. Offers recommendations on rural tobacco prevention and control for federal and state agencies, communities, tribes, and other stakeholders.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Jean A. Talbot, Martha Elbaum Williamson, Karen Pearson, et al.
Date: 01/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Network of Public Health Institutes
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Understanding the Opioid Crisis in Rural and Urban Iowa
Highlights findings from an analysis of the opioid epidemic in Iowa. Covers data and statistics comparing opioid death rates in Iowa to surrounding states; opioid-use deaths in metropolitan, micropolitan, and rural Iowa and to the U.S. population; and opioid deaths by cause, such as prescription or synthetic opioids, and rurality. Analyzes other factors related to opioid-use deaths such as demographics, employment, income, and civic participation.
Author(s): David J. Peters, Peter Miller, Andrew Hochstetler
Date: 01/2019
Sponsoring organization: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
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Employment Disparity Grows for Rural Americans with Disability
Fact sheet showing changes in employment rates for people with and without disabilities in the 9 geographic divisions of the United States, using the American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Features breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, and non-core counties.
Date: 01/2019
Sponsoring organization: University of Montana: Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities
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Rural Medicine Realities: The Impact of Immersion on Urban-Based Medical Students
Results of a study conducted in 2017 at the University of Louisville School of Medicine Trover (ULTC) rural campus, to determine how a rural-based 8-week surgical clerkship during the third year of medical school affected students' views on rural living and practice.
Author(s): Allison M. Crump, Karie Jeter, Samantha Mullins, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 35(1), 42-48
Date: 01/2019
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Rural Health Research Recap: Quality of Care in Rural Hospitals
Describes methods used to collect data on rural hospital care quality and offers findings comparing quality in rural and urban hospitals. Features statistics on CMS star quality ratings in 2017, with breakdowns by rural and urban locations.
Author(s): Shawnda Schroeder
Date: 01/2019
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway
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Characteristics of School-Associated Youth Homicides — United States, 1994–2018
Examines school-associated youth homicides based on data for single-victim homicides during July 1994-June 2016 and multiple-victim incidents during July 1994-June 2018. Includes information by school locale for rural, suburban, and urban schools.
Author(s): Kristin M. Holland, Jeffrey E. Hall, Jing Wang, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 68(3), 53-60
Date: 01/2019
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Opioid-Related Hospital Stays Among Women in the United States, 2016
Examines opioid-related hospitalizations among women 15 years of age and older. Provides data by location of patient residence for large metropolitan, small/medium metro, and micropolitan/noncore (rural) areas addressing: opioid-related compared to non-opioid stays; co-occurring mental disorder or pregnancy/childbirth; stays related to opioid abuse/dependence, opioid adverse events, and opioid poisoning/self-harm; and patient race/ethnicity by location of residence.
Author(s): Audrey J. Weiss, Kimberly W. McDermott, Kevin C. Heslin
Date: 01/2019
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Opioid Prescribing Rates in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Counties Among Primary Care Providers Using an Electronic Health Record System — United States, 2014–2017
Examines opioid prescribing rates among primary care providers for six urban-rural classification categories of counties, before and after the March 2016 release of CDC's Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.
Author(s): Macarena C. García, Charles M. Heilig, Scott H. Lee, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 68(2), 25-30
Date: 01/2019
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Rural-Urban Differences in Baseline Dietary Intake and Physical Activity Levels of Adolescents
Analyzes data on dietary intake and physical activity for 940 9th and 10th graders in 8 high schools in the southwestern U.S. from 2014-2017. Features demographic statistics including breakdowns by population density of less than and greater than 1,000 people per square mile.
Author(s): Renee Euler, Elizabeth Yakes Jimenez, Sarah Sanders, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 16
Date: 01/2019
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