Rural Health Disparities – Resources

Discharge Disposition for Home Health Care Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia: The Role of Living Arrangements and Rural Living
Examines rural versus urban differences in living arrangements and their impact on discharge disposition of patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD). Analyzes 531,269 Medicare fee-for-service patient records with data breakdowns for living arrangement, such as living alone, living at home with others, or living in a congregate setting, as well as sociodemographic and health condition variables. Discusses rural versus urban disparities when a patient discharges to their community or an institution and the impact of social support on ADRD patients.
Author(s): Daniel Jung, Jeong Ha (Steph) Choi, Kerstin Gerst Emerson
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(1)
Date: 08/2024
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Disparities Impact Statement
Guidance through a 5 step process for healthcare providers and other healthcare focused organizations to identify and address health disparities among various people groups including rural and tribal communities.
Date: 08/2024
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Trends in Pancreatic Cancer Mortality in the United States 1999–2020: A CDC Database Population-Based Study
Examines trends in pancreatic cancer mortality by age, sex, race, level of rurality, and geographic region. Utilizes 1999-2020 CDC WONDER data. Compares mortality over time among rural, suburban, and urban populations, with additional data on Black rural, Black urban, White rural, and White urban populations.
Author(s): Alexander J. Didier, Swamroop Nandwani, Alan M. Fahoury, et al.
Citation: Cancer Causes & Control, 2024
Date: 08/2024
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The Rural Mortality Penalty in U.S. Hospital Patients with COVID-19
Examines whether rural-urban disparities in patient condition at hospital admission affect all-cause mortality among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 from March 2020 to February 2023, utilizing Epic Cosmos data of 1,119,199 patients. Provides data on rural versus urban differences in patient condition at admission, overall health, vaccination status, age, and other demographics. Discusses factors associated with reduced access to care in rural areas.
Author(s): Jeffrey A. Thompson, Dinesh Pal Mudaranthakam, Lynn Chollet-Hinton
Citation: Population Health Metrics, 22, 20
Date: 08/2024
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Community-Level Factors and their Associations with Changing Opioid Overdose Fatality Rates in Kentucky, 2019–2021
Identifies associations between community-level factors and opioid overdose fatality rates in Appalachian and non-Appalachian Kentucky counties, and examines how these associations have changed from 2019 to 2021. Discusses societal changes that occurred due to COVID-19, including social isolation, and which may be linked to an increase in overdose deaths. Features statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan, adjacent-to-metropolitan, and nonmetropolitan areas.
Author(s): Shawn R. Nigam, Philip M. Westgate, Svetla Slavova, Rachel Vickers-Smith, Katherine L. Thompson
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 6(1), 90-115
Date: 07/2024
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Provision of Stroke Care Services by Community Disadvantage Status in the US, 2009-2022
Results of a study of 5,055 hospitals, examining the association of community socioeconomic disadvantage with likelihood of nearby hospitals adopting stroke center certification from 2009-2022. Features statistics including hospital characteristics during the study period, with breakdown by rural location.
Author(s): Renee Y. Hsia, Nandita Sarkar, Yu-Chu Shen
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(7), e2421010
Date: 07/2024
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Traffic Safety Facts, 2022 Data: Rural/Urban Traffic Fatalities
Reports 2022 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data describing fatal motor vehicle crashes. Provides rural versus urban statistics for fatal motor vehicle crashes by light condition, roadway departure and intersection, age group, speeding, alcohol use, seat belt use, and rollover crashes. Includes statistics on ratio of rural to urban fatality rates per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, by state, as of 2022.
Date: 07/2024
Sponsoring organization: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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Patterns and Trends in Melanoma Mortality in the United States, 1999–2020
Analyzes melanoma mortality utilizing 1999-2020 data from Centers for Disease Control Wide Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC WONDER). Provides mortality trends broken down by sex, race/ethnicity, age, state, and rural, suburban, or urban location.
Author(s): Alexander J. Didier, Swamroop V. Nandwani, Dean Watkins, et al.
Citation: BMC Cancer, 24, 790
Date: 07/2024
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Risk Factors for Poor Health Among U.S. Older Adults in Rural and Urban Areas: Injury, Food Insecurity, and Lack of Social and Emotional Support
Examines health and well-being in older adults by focusing on rural versus urban variations in injury, food insecurity, and lack of social and emotional support. Provides data breakdowns by demographics, employment, income, marital status, education, and more.
Author(s): Ingrid Jacobson, Alexis Swendener, Megan Lahr, Alyssa Fritz, Carrie Henning-Smith
Date: 06/2024
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Talking about Health Disparities in Rural Contexts
Examines the concepts of health equity and health disparities in rural public health contexts. Discusses communication strategies to increase understanding and support for efforts to address health inequities in rural areas.
Author(s): Theresa L. Miller, Julie Sweetland, Luis Hestres, et al.
Date: 06/2024
Sponsoring organizations: FrameWorks Institute, National Network of Public Health Institutes
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