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Rural Health Information Hub

Transportation to Support Rural Healthcare – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Transportation to Support Rural Healthcare.

HealthTran: Provider Sustainability and Patient Empowerment
Video featuring Community Asset Builders' HealthTran, a volunteer driver program that helps mobility-challenged clients in over 40 rural Missouri counties get to and from medical appointments.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Impact of Driving Cessation on Health-Related Quality of Life Trajectories
Examines the impact of driving cessation (DC) in older drivers aged 65-79 on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in rural and urban populations. Includes charts showing differences in HRQoL related to DC in metro core, metro non-core, and small town/rural areas. Discusses the impact of access to alternative transportation on mental health and HRQoL in older adults.
Author(s): Thelma J. Mielenz, Haomiao Jia, Carolyn DiGuiseppi, et al.
Citation: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 22, 13
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
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Discretionary Transportation Grants: DOT Should Improve Transparency in the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Program
Examines the Department of Transportation (DOT)'s processes to solicit, evaluate, and select applications for Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant awards in fiscal year (FY) 2022, and the extent to which DOT's evaluation and selection processes aligned with federal guidance. Includes information about the Rural Surface Transportation program, which receives INFRA funding, and statistics on number of INFRA grant awards in FYs 2016–2022, with breakdowns by urban and rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Interest in Shared-Use Mobility Services in Tribal Communities
Explores the impact that technology-enabled, shared-use mobility services such as rideshare, carshare, bikeshare, microtransit, and more may have on rural and tribal areas. Identifies relevant literature on shared-use mobilities services, a case study based on a tribal community in Oklahoma, and best practices and challenges related to emerging transit technologies.
Author(s): Ranjit Godavarthy, Jill Hough
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
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Resources on Rides for Employment for Older Adults and People with Disabilities
Describes differences in transportation accessibility for older adults and people with disabilities based on resources available in particular communities. Provides resources and example programs focused on improving transportation options in rural areas.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Aging and Disability Transportation Center
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Impacts of Transit on Health in Rural and Small Urban Areas
Overview of how public transportation affects health in rural and small urban areas. Summarizes findings from a literature review that looked at public transportation as it relates to the social determinants of health, healthcare access, physical activity, social isolation, and mental health. Also reports results from a survey of rural older adults supplemented by data analysis looking at travel for healthcare, challenges related to public transportation, and the impacts of missed or delayed healthcare trips.
Author(s): Jeremy Mattson, Bright Quayson
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
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Travel for Medical or Dental Care by Race/Ethnicity and Rurality in the U.S.: Findings from the 2001, 2009 and 2017 National Household Travel Surveys
Analyzes National Household Travel Surveys from 2001, 2009, and 2017 to determine trends in average travel distance and travel burden between rural and urban residents seeking medical or dental care. Includes analysis of race and ethnicity as well as comparisons between travel for medical or dental care and employment.
Author(s): Marvellous Akinlotan, Nima Khodakarami, Kristin Primm, Jane Bolin, Alva O. Ferdinand
Citation: Preventative Medicine Reports, 35(2023), 102297
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
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Access to Intercity Transportation in Rural Areas
Provides information and an interactive map that shows the percentage of rural residents who have access to commercial air, intercity bus, or intercity rail transportation. Includes county-level data for the years 2006, 2012, 2018, and 2021. Depicts state-level transportation access data as well as demographic characteristics of rural areas.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
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New Growth Transit: Community-Based Transit for Rural Communities
Video featuring West Central Missouri Community Action Agency's New Growth Transit volunteer driver network, which provides transportation for mobility-challenged clients living in 9 rural counties in West Central Missouri.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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An Active Roadmap: Best Practices in Rural Mobility
Provides a literature review and cases studies related to the ways rural communities encourage health-focused infrastructure, multimodal transportation, economic development, and environmentally safe practices. Describes the typology and demographics of rural areas and discusses how transportation is linked to wellness and community health outcomes.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Smart Growth America, The National Complete Streets Coalition
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Last Updated: 3/18/2024