Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Type: Document

Comparing Utilization of Home Health Care Between Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries by Rural-Urban Status
Policy report describing differences in utilization of home healthcare between beneficiaries enrolled in Traditional Medicare (TM) and Medicare Advantage (MA), and by rural or urban status. Examines differences in use of home health overall, provision of specific services, including physical and occupational therapy, and receipt of care from home health agencies by enrollment in TM and MA. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban, large rural, small rural, and isolated rural areas.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
A Rural Lens on Federal Block Grant Distribution
Provides an overview on federal block grants and how they are allocated in rural and underserved areas. Includes data on funding allocation, interview feedback from grant representatives, and an analysis of the application materials of 5 block grants: Preventive Health and Health Services (PHHS), Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), Child Care and Development Fund/Block Grant (CCDF, CCDBG), Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant (SUBG), and the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG). Discusses how federal block grants can move toward equitable distribution for rural communities.
Author(s): Casey P. Balio, Stephanie M. Mathis, Margaret M. Francisco, Michael B. Meit, Kate E. Beatty
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
view details
Forces Driving Change in Rural North Carolina
Examines major forces driving change in rural North Carolina communities, which influence people, communities, and businesses. Includes sections on rural healthcare inequities, social determinants of health, and the long-term impact of COVID-19 on rural people. Features a county-level map showing health outcome rankings as of 2022, and statistics on the number of healthcare professionals per 10,000 people, with breakdowns by urban, suburban, and rural areas.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: NC Rural Center
view details
Current Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) Measures
Chart outlining the required and optional MBQIP measures. Measures are broken down into two categories, core and additional, and then into five domains: global measures, patient safety, patient engagement, care coordination, and emergency department. MBQIP is a Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) quality improvement grant program for Critical Access Hospitals.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Quality Improvement Technical Assistance (RQITA) Resource Center
view details
Rural Collaborative Opportunities For Occupational Learning (R-COOL-Health) Scrubs Camps and Scrubs Academy
Provides an overview of the North Dakota Rural Collaborative Opportunities for Occupational Learning (R-Cool-Health) Scrubs Camps and Scrubs Academy programs, including information on the number of students and rural communities involved with the programs. Describes the opportunities for students in grades 5 through 12 to learn about and understand a wide range of healthcare careers available in their rural communities.
Author(s): Nicole Threadgold
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health
view details
Child and Family Services Reviews: Nevada Statewide Assessment, 2025
Assesses the state of Nevada's child welfare services in 2025, covering operations and procedures of the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) and the safety and outcomes of children and families receiving DCFS services. Provides data comparisons of Nevada's rural areas versus Clark and Washoe counties.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Nevada Department of Health and Human Services
view details
Metrics of Urbanicity and Rurality in US-Based Epidemiologic Studies of Ambient Temperature and Health: A Scoping Review
Analyzes 2010-2025 epidemiologic studies in the U.S. focused on ambient temperature, population health, and rural versus urban metrics. Discusses the importance of urban and rural classification to assess environmental impacts such as ambient temperature on health.
Author(s): Nicholaus P. Johnson, Alexandra Del Favero-Campbell, Amruta Nori-Sarma, et al.
Citation: Current Environmental Health Reports, 12(1), 30
Date: 08/2025
view details
A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Opioid Prescriptions in Indiana from 2015 to 2019
Analyzes rural versus urban disparities in opioid prescriptions in Indiana. Utilizes 2015-2019 Medicaid claims data to examine 107,574 Medicaid enrollees who received opioid prescriptions, with data breakdowns according to patient demographics, ZIP code location, and rural or urban area.
Author(s): Paula A. Jaimes-Buitron, Nicole Adams, Nan Kong, Carolina Vivas-Valencia
Citation: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 20, 30
Date: 08/2025
view details
Group Prenatal Care in Rural Settings: Experiences from Rural Maternal Health Networks
Describes a rural maternal health network, Families First: Rural Maternity Health Collaborative, in northern Minnesota. Discusses federal maternal health funding focused on group prenatal care and service delivery models.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Maternal Health Data Support and Analysis Program
view details
Dissemination of Heat Safety Practices among Florida Farmworker Crews
Explores the efficacy of heat related illness safety training for farmworkers working on harvesting crews in Florida. Breaks down participants post-intervention rates of hydration knowledge, risk perception, and buy-in, among other measures.
Author(s): Miranda Carver Martin, Linda Forst, Michael Siciliano, et al.
Citation: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 67(8), e518-e524
Date: 08/2025
view details