Rural Health Disparities – Resources

Rural and Urban Differences in Suicide in the United States, 2018-2021
Highlights the rates of suicide across the U.S. from 2018-2021 in rural and urban areas. Discusses some of the geographic and demographic characteristics that correlate with higher rates of suicide. Breaks down data by year, demographics, Census and HHS regions, and rural versus urban location. Makes policy recommendations based on the report's findings.
Author(s): Qian Huang, Nicole Galler, Michael Meit, Amy Wahlquist
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
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Rural-Urban Disparities in Hospitalisation for Myocardial Infarction in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in the USA
Examines rural-urban disparities in hospitalization for myocardial infarction among people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), utilizing 2016-2019 National Inpatient Sample data. Analyzes demographic factors, including sex and geographic region, associated with increased risk of hospitalization.
Author(s): Jasvinder A. Singh, Sumanth Chandrupatla
Citation: Lupus Science & Medicine, 12, e001516
Date: 04/2025
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Rising Rural Mortality Rates From Natural Causes for Working-Age Adults Lead to Widening Gap With Urban Counterparts
Reports on disparities in natural cause mortality rates between rural and urban working age adults. Explores disparities by various demographic factors and underlying causes.
Author(s): Kelsey L. Thomas (Conley), Elizabeth A. Dobis, David McGranahan
Citation: Amber Waves
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Lung Cancer Disparities in Rural, Persistent Poverty Counties: A Secondary Data Analysis
Examines lung cancer incidence and mortality according to county-level smoking rates, rurality, and poverty. Analyzes county types, such as urban and non-persistent poverty, urban and persistent poverty, rural and non-persistent poverty, and rural and persistent poverty as correlated with lung cancer disparities.
Author(s): Veronica Bernacchi, Kelly Hirko, Eric Adjei Boakye, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 25, 878
Date: 03/2025
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Rural Health Disparities and Differences in Definitions of Rurality
Examines health disparities and differences in healthcare characteristics between rural and nonrural counties using data from the 2023 County Health Rankings and 2021-2022 Area Health Resources Files. Compares community health and healthcare characteristics by two county-level urban-rural classification systems: Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC) and Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs). Explores the degree to which four county-level classification systems - RUCC, CBSA, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for Counties, and Urban Influence Codes (UIC) - agree regarding which counties are designated as rural.
Date: 02/2025
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, NORC at the University of Chicago
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A Fast Approach for Analyzing Spatio-Temporal Patterns in Ischemic Heart Disease Mortality Across US Counties (1999–2021)
Examines spatio-temporal patterns and county-level trends of ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality in the United States from 1999 to 2021. Includes county-level U.S. maps presenting IHD trends as well as discussion of geographic and rural versus urban IHD disparities.
Author(s): A. Urdangarin, T. Goicoa, P. Congdon, M.D. Ugarte
Citation: Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Epidemiology, 52, 100700
Date: 02/2025
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Disparities in Substance Use Disorder Telehealth Services
Results of a study examining telehealth's association with changes in disparities in substance use disorder telehealth utilization across payers and rurality, from 2019-2023. Features statistics including breakdowns by urban and rural areas.
Author(s): Lauryn Saxe Walker, Manying Cui, Jonathan Cantor, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(2), e2459606
Date: 02/2025
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Rural–Urban Disparities in State-Level Diabetes Prevalence Among US Adults, 2021
Analyzes diabetes disparities among rural and urban populations in 41 states in the U.S. Utilizes 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to examine rural versus urban disparities and odds ratios (OR) for diabetes in different states.
Author(s): Olga Khavjou, Zohra Tayebali, Pyone Cho, Kristopher Myers, Ping Zhang
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 21
Date: 01/2025
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The Uneven Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Rural and Urban Black, Latino/a, and White Mortality
Examines mortality rates and the corresponding impact of Medicaid expansion on Black, Latino/a, and White populations, broken down by rural versus urban location. Utilizes 2009-2019 data of Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATET) estimates to provide statistical breakdowns and graphic representation of how Medicaid expansion has impacted mortality rates for varying populations.
Author(s): J. Tom Mueller, Regina S. Baker, Matthew M. Brooks
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(1), e12859
Date: 2025
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Associations Between COVID-19 Therapies and Outcomes in Rural and Urban America: A Multisite, Temporal Analysis from the Alpha to Omicron SARS-CoV-2 Variants
Examines COVID-19 treatment, health outcomes, and mortality disparities in rural and urban areas of the United States. Analyzes 2021-2023 National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) data from 3,018,646 patients to break down COVID-19 disparities according to patient demographics, vaccine status, comorbidities, U.S. Census region, and adverse inpatient events, as well as urban, urban-adjacent, or nonurban-adjacent location.
Author(s): A. Jerrod Anzalone, William H. Beasley, Kimberly Murray, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(1), e12857
Date: 2025
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