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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Statistics and data

Geographic Variation in Uncompensated Care Between Rural and Urban Hospitals
Findings brief describing how uncompensated hospital care varies across regions of the country, using data from the 2014-2016 Medicare Cost Report Worksheet S-10. Features statistics including breakdowns by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), other rural hospitals, and urban hospitals.
Author(s): Krystal G. Garcia, Kristie Thompson, Hilda A. Howard, George H. Pink
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Rural Poverty Remains Regionally Concentrated
Map showing poverty rates for nonmetropolitan counties, based on 2012-2016 American Community Survey data.
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Mental Health-related Physician Office Visits by Adults Aged 18 and Over: United States, 2012–2014
Examines adult mental health-related physician office visits by specialty and patient characteristics. Includes information on visits to psychiatrists, primary care physicians, and other physicians in large metropolitan, medium to small metropolitan, and rural areas.
Additional links: Questions for the Lead Author, NCHStats blog
Author(s): Donald Cherry, Michael Albert, Linda F. McCaig
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Health Insurance Coverage by Occupation Among Adults Aged 18–64 Years — 17 States, 2013–2014
Examines changes in health insurance coverage between 2013 and 2014. Includes data on health insurance among employed workers by selected characteristics, including rural residence. Provides health insurance data by occupational group. Reports on 17 states that asked all Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey participants about healthcare coverage and asked employed participants about their industry and occupation.
Author(s): Winifred L. Boal, Jia Li, Aaron Sussell
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 67(21), 593-598
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Prescribing Practices of Rural Physicians Waivered to Prescribe Buprenorphine
Highlights a study on the prescribing practices of rural physicians with buprenorphine waivers, which allowed them to provide medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid used disorder. Findings are based on surveys of all rural physicians with a Drug Enforcement Administration prescription waiver. Breaks down data by physician specialty, practice type, and waiver type, among other factors.
Author(s): Holly A. Andrilla, Cynthia Coulthard, Davis G. Patterson
Citation: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 54(6) S3, S208-S214
Date: 06/2018
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Activities and Situations When Young Adults Drive Drunk in Rural Montana
Examines the situations that lead to or promote driving under the influence of alcohol for young adults in 8 rural Montana counties, drawing from 11 focus group sessions with a total of 72 participants. Describes elevated fatality rates related to traffic crashes in rural areas and situation-specific decision factors contributing to driving under the influence. Discusses implications of data for community-wide interventions to reduce underage drinking and driving after or while drinking.
Author(s): Matthew E. Rossheim, Kaylin M. Greene, Caroline J. Stephenson
Citation: American Journal of Health Behavior, 42(3), 27-36
Date: 05/2018
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Peer Mentor Versus Teacher Delivery of a Physical Activity Program on the Effects of BMI and Daily Activity: Protocol of a School-based Group Randomized Controlled Trial in Appalachia
Describes a school-based program utilizing peer mentors to promote health behavior changes and improved health outcomes in rural Appalachian Ohio teens. Explores unique circumstances leading to limited physical activity among Appalachian youth, such as a lack of organized sports and recreational facilities.
Author(s): Lauren H. Smith, Rick L. Petosa, Abigail Shoben
Citation: BMC Public Health, 18, 633
Date: 05/2018
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Rural Hospital Transitional Care Program Reduces Medicare Spending
Evaluates the impact of a weekly transitional care intervention, conducted by phone for recently discharged patients, on service use and spending among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries at a community-based hospital in rural Worcester County, Maryland.
Author(s): Keith Kranker, Linda M. Barterian, Rumin Sarwar, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Managed Care, 24(5), 256-260
Date: 05/2018
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A Statewide Program Providing Colorectal Cancer Screening to the Uninsured of South Carolina
Describes the implementation and clinical outcomes of the Colorectal Cancer Prevention Network (CCPN), a South Carolina statewide partnership providing no cost access to colonoscopy screening to uninsured populations seeking medical care at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), hospital-based indigent services, and other free medical clinics.
Author(s): Jan M. Eberth, Annie Thibault, Renay Caldwell, et al.
Citation: Cancer, 124(9), 1912-1920
Date: 05/2018
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The Interaction Between Rural/Urban Status and Dual Use Status among Veterans with Heart Failure
Details a study on hospitalization and emergency department use by veterans with heart failure who use VA-only services or use a combination of VA and other healthcare services. Examines the role of urban and rural status in the veterans healthcare utilization rates.
Author(s): Kelly J Hunt, Mulugeta Gebregziahber, Charles J Everett, Paul A Heidenreich, Robert Neal
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 18(2), 4495
Date: 05/2018
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