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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Statistics and data

2016 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report: Chartbook on Rural Health Care
Summarizes trends in healthcare quality and disparities for rural populations. Includes quality measures for access to healthcare, patient safety, person- and family-centered care, care coordination, affordability, healthy living, and effective treatment.
Author(s): Barbara Barton, Irim Azam
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Breast Reconstruction Surgery for Mastectomy in Hospital Inpatient and Ambulatory Settings, 2009-2014
Examines reconstruction surgeries for mastectomy among adult women over a 5-year period, with data by patient and hospital characteristics. Includes rural/urban data by location of patient residence and by hospital location.
Author(s): Adela M. Miller, Claudia A. Steiner, Marguerite L. Barrett, Kathryn R. Fingar, Anne Elixhauser
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Suicide Trends Among and Within Urbanization Levels by Sex, Race/Ethnicity, Age Group, and Mechanism of Death — United States, 2001–2015
Reports on county-level trends in suicide rates during 2001–2015 for large metropolitan, medium/small metropolitan, and nonmetro counties. Includes data by gender, race/ethnicity, and age group. Covers the mechanism of death, with data on firearms, hanging/suffocation, drug poisoning, non-drug poisoning, and other causes.
Author(s): Asha Z. Ivey-Stephenson, Alex E. Crosby, Shane P. D. Jack, Tadesse Haileyesus, Marcie-jo Kresnow-Sedacca
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 66(18), 1-16
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Despair as a Cause of Death: More Complex Than It First Appears
Describes studies showing urban-rural and racial/ethnic comparisons of premature deaths due to self-destructive behaviors and possible underlying social and economic factors in the communities.
Author(s): Ana V. Diez Roux
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 107(10), 1566-1567
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
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The Epidemic of Despair Among White Americans: Trends in the Leading Causes of Premature Death, 1999–2015
Evaluates trends in cause-specific death rates for adults ages 25-64, from 1999-2001 and 2013-2015. Features statistics including cause of death, age, race, and urbanization level in the United States, with breakdowns by large urban, suburban, small/medium metropolitan, and rural areas.
Author(s): Elizabeth M. Stein, Keith P. Gennuso, Donna C. Ugboaja, Patrick L. Remington
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 107(10), 1541-1547
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
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Minnesota: Filling the Mental Health Pipeline
Discusses the mental health workforce in Minnesota including the educational pipeline, the licensed and unlicensed workforce, regional issues related to recruitment, and policy implications. Includes data about degrees completed, licenses gained after graduation, and population-to-provider ratios of the mental health workforce in Minnesota by rural or isolated, small town or small rural, micropolitan or large rural, and metropolitan.
Author(s): Alessia Leibert, Teri Fritsma
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
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Access To Obstetric Services In Rural Counties Still Declining, With 9 Percent Losing Services, 2004-14
Results of a study identifying gaps in the availability of hospital-based obstetric services in rural America, and providing evidence of disparities in local access to obstetric services in vulnerable rural communities. Includes statistics on percentages of rural counties by status of hospital obstetric services from 2004–14, with breakdowns by micropolitan or noncore location, and a county-level map with shadings indicating full closure, continuous services, or no services.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Carrie E. Henning-Smith, Michelle M. Casey, Katy B. Kozhimannil
Citation: Health Affairs, 36(9), 1663-1671
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
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Exploring Rural Disparities in Medical Diagnoses among Veterans with Transgender-related Diagnoses Utilizing Veterans Health Administration Care
Presents a study on the differences in transgender-related diagnoses of veterans treated by the Veterans Health Administration in rural versus urban areas. Discusses medical conditions associated with transgender veterans, such as substance use and post-traumatic stress disorder, among others.
Author(s): Leigh A. Bukowski, John Blosnich, Jillian C. Shipherd, et al.
Citation: Medical Care, 55(9 Suppl2), S97-S103
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
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Utilizing Patient Geographic Information System Data to Plan Telemedicine Service Locations
Describes a model for determining optimal locations for telemedicine service providers by using electronic health record (EHR) data in a geographic information system (GIS). Demonstrates the method for extracting GIS patient data from EHRs using an EHR sample of 4,027 visits to a neurodevelopmental pediatric service provider in 2011-2012. Discusses potential and limitations for using EHR data and GIS mapping to plan for specific telemedicine interventions.
Author(s): Neelkamal Soares, Joseph Dewalle, Ben Marsh
Citation: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 24(5), 891-896
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
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Variations in Obesity Rates between US Counties: Impacts of Activity Access, Food Environments, and Settlement Patterns
Describes differences in obesity rates among U.S. counties based on rurality, region, poverty level, and ethnicity. Analyzes access to physical activity facilities, food environments, and settlement patterns, defined as residential density and car dependence, to determine potential explanations for geographic variations.
Author(s): Peter Congdon
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(9), 1023
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
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