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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Summer Food Service Program Integrity Study
Examines how state agencies and sponsors of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) administer programs, maintain oversight and integrity, identify challenges, and provide resources and training. Utilizes 2021 data from state SFSP agencies to analyze SFSP staffing, funding, and outreach; eligibility of sites; program training, technical assistance, and resources; meal counting and claiming; the monitoring of operations and turnover; and impact of COVID-19 on SFSP integrity. Includes data on rural versus urban SFSP experiences.
Additional links: Summary
Author(s): Lindsay Giesen, Alice Ann Gola, Maeve Gearing, et al.
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Agriculture
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Sexual Minorities Are Not a Homogeneous Population: Health Disparity Differences Based on Residence in Rural Versus Urban Settings
Evaluated 210,392 sexual minorities (SMs) between 2015 and 2019 to determine whether rural SMs are at increased risk for chronic disease. Includes discussion of insurance status, sex, rural and urban comparisons, and multiple chronic illnesses.
Author(s): Ethan Morgan, Kathryn Lancaster, Yootapichai Phosri, Janelle Ricks, Christina Dyar
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 23(3), 8052
Date: 08/2023
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Examining the Diversity of the Rural United States
Explores the sociodemographic diversity of rural counties. Discusses research on the mortality for chronic respiratory diseases, substance use disorders, and transportation injuries by ethnicity and urbanicity. Describes the importance of engaging local community members and organizations to understand the needs of rural communities. Profiles Jefferson County, Oregon, diversity in rural Central Oregon, and the Central Oregon Regional Health Assessment.
Author(s): Parkes Kendrick
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: Think Global Health
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Rural Health Research Recap: Rural Behavioral Health Workforce
Summarizes recent research from Rural Health Research Centers examining numbers of social workers, psychologists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and counselors. Features statistics including percent of counties without behavioral health professionals from 2014-2021 and behavioral health professionals per 100,000 residents from 2014-2021, with breakdowns by urban or rural location and profession type.
Author(s): Jessica Rosencrans
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway
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Public Belief in the Maternal Health Benefits of Breastfeeding — United States, 2018 and 2021
Examines public belief in breastfeeding health benefits for the mother. Utilizes 2018 and 2021 survey data to analyze perceptions related to decreased cancer, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes risk according to survey respondent sex, age, race/ethnicity, education, income, employment, marital status, region, and metro versus nonmetro location.
Author(s): Ellen O. Boundy, Jennifer M. Nelson, Ruowei Li
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 20
Date: 08/2023
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Vaccination Coverage Among Adolescents Aged 13–17 Years — National Immunization Survey–Teen, United States, 2022
Reports on trends in vaccination coverage among U.S. adolescents for ages 13 through 17. Includes nonmetro data on vaccination by age 13 and by age 14 for each birth year for the following vaccines: Tdap (tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis), MenACWY (quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate), and HPV (human papillomavirus).
Author(s): Cassandra Pingali, David Yankey, Laurie D. Elam-Evans, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 72(34), 912-919
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Dual Barriers: Examining Digital Access and Travel Burdens to Hospital Maternity Care Access in the United States, 2020
Analyzes the relationship between drive time to hospital maternity units and access to digital/telehealth care in mitigating travel burden. Utilizes 2020 American Hospital Association Annual Survey data with information broken down by rural versus urban location, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and broadband and digital device access.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Marion Granger, Nansi Boghossian, et al.
Citation: The Milbank Quarterly, 101(4), 1327-1347
Date: 08/2023
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Disparities in Cancer Mortality Patterns: A Comprehensive Examination of U.S. Rural and Urban Adults, 1999–2020
Analyzes cancer mortality rates over a 20-year period to observe rural versus urban disparities. Utilizes National Center for Health Statistics data with rural versus urban data breakdowns by type of cancer, race/ethnicity, and sex.
Author(s): Itunu O. Sokale, Syed Ahsan Raza, Aaron P. Thrift
Citation: Cancer Medicine, 12(18), 18988-18998
Date: 08/2023
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Telemedicine Visits in US Skilled Nursing Facilities
Results of a study of telemedicine use in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), using data from over 4.4 million residents at 15,434 SNFs. Features statistics including characteristics of SNFs in the top quartile by telemedicine use in 2020 to 2021, with breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, small urban, and rural areas, and state-level maps with shadings showing rates of telemedicine use in SNFs from 2019-2022.
Author(s): Agne Ulyte, Ateev Mehrotra, Andrew D. Wilcock, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(8)
Date: 08/2023
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Changes in Policy Supports for Healthy Food Retailers, Farmers Markets, and Breastfeeding Among US Municipalities, 2014–2021: National Survey of Community-Based Policy and Environmental Supports for Healthy Eating and Active Living (CBS-HEAL)
Examines policies that support healthy food access and breastfeeding, such as tax incentives for food vendors, streamlined processes for farmers markets, breaktime for workers who pump breast milk, and more. Tracks data changes between 2014 and 2021 to examine policies in US municipalities according to rural-urban status, Census region, educational attainment, poverty, and race/ethnicity.
Author(s): Stephen J. Onufrak, Latetia V. Moore, Samantha L. Pierce, Carol A. MacGowan, Deborah A. Galuska
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 20
Date: 08/2023
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