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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Transportation

Air Ambulance: Available Data Show Privately-Insured Patients Are at Financial Risk
Examines air ambulance transports for patients with a focus on balance billing. Describes changes in geographic distribution of air ambulance services, including the location of bases and new bases and additions in rural areas; the extent of out-of-network air ambulance transports and balance billing practices; and how states are limiting balance billing. Relies on data from a variety of sources, including interviews with officials in 6 states: Florida, North Dakota, Montana, New Mexico, Maryland, and Texas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Stranded: Bridging the Transportation Gap for Rural Communities
Discusses the transportation gap for older, disabled, and lower-income people in rural communities. Highlights some of the challenges of accessing transportation services in rural communities and offers some steps toward closing the gap.
Author(s): Valerie Lefler
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: AARP
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Using Upstream Quality Improvement to Address Transportation
Module 5 in a series of video trainings for clinicians on how they can help address the social determinants of health. This segment discusses transportation and addresses rural issues. Includes a case study conversation with Jill Lord, director of community health at Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center, a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) in Vermont.
Date: 02/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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2018 Home and Community Preferences Survey: A National Survey of Adults Age 18-Plus a Look at Rural Communities
Reports on survey data investigating preferences for homes and communities in adults with focus on housing, transportation, outdoor spaces, and social engagement. Discusses specific preferences and needs for older adults and people with disabilities. Includes comparisons between rural, urban, and suburban respondents.
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: AARP
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Dialysis Transportation: The Intersection of Transportation and Healthcare
Report details the importance of having access to reliable transportation for dialysis patients. Discusses how a lack of reliable transportation affects dialysis patients' access to treatment and quality of life. Highlights challenges faced by rural patients.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Elizabeth Ellis, Sue Knapp, Jason Quan, et al.
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Transportation Research Board
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Transit and Livability: Results from the National Community Livability Survey
Results from Phase 3 of a livability study examining the connection between transit and quality of life in metro urban and nonmetro rural communities. Features socio-demographic statistics and importance of factors affecting community livability, including access to healthcare, with breakdowns by metro and nonmetro location.
Author(s): Ranjit Godavarthy, Jeremy Mattson, Jonathan Brooks, et al.
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
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Taking Flight: Charity Airplane Services Transport Patients to Medical Care
Highlights the role charitable flight services play in helping get rural patients to needed healthcare services. Features programs that serve veterans, cancer patients, the chronically ill, and abused children.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Travel Patterns of American Adults with Disabilities
Discusses travel habits of people with and without disabilities. Compares duration and distance of travel in rural and urban areas. Briefly mentions rural disability prevalence and disparities in frequency of travel.
Author(s): Stephen Brumbaugh
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Transportation
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Addressing Commuting as a Public Health Issue: Strategies Should Differ by Rurality
Analyzes 2017 County Health Rankings data for counties and county-like equivalents in the U.S. to examine the rate of solo car commuting and long solo car commutes by rurality. Describes differences in socio-demographic factors related to commuting behavior by rural and urban residence.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Katy Kozhimannil, Alex Evenson
Date: 07/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Mobility & Aging in Rural America: The Role for Innovation: An Introduction for Funders
Outlines challenges facing older people, people with disabilities, and people in areas with few mobility options. Includes a section on funding strategies for rural transit. Describes successful programs, defines mobility as a social determinant of health, and explores approaches for improvement, including new partnerships with healthcare providers and telehealth.
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Grantmakers In Aging
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