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What is Rural? – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on What is Rural?.

Defining Census Bureau Urban Areas
Provides an overview of how the Census Bureau defines urban and rural areas. Transcript available in the video description.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Defining Rural America: The Consequences of How We Count
Discusses several federal definitions of rural and the implications of using different definitions. Compares how U.S. Census Bureau and Office Management and Budget (OMB) characterize rural America. Offers principles on how to choose which definition to use to describe rural areas.
Date: 07/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center on Rural Innovation
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Definition and Categorization of Rural and Assessment of Realized Access to Care
Examines Health Information National Trends Survey data to determine how 3 different definitions of rural change healthcare utilization, perceived quality, and perceived provider attentiveness metrics. Considers Urban Influence Codes (UIC), Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC), and Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA).
Author(s): Whitney E. Zahnd, Natalie Del Vecchio, Natoshia Askelson, et al.
Citation: Health Services Research, 57(3), 693-702
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
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How to Apply to Become a National Health Service Corps Site
Webinar recording discusses the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and how rural healthcare facilities can become a NHSC site. Features presentations from representatives of Health Resources and Services Administration, the Bureau of Health Workforce, and 3RNET.
Date: 04/2022
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Reimagining Rural: Shifting Paradigms About Health and Well-Being in the Rural United States
Discusses ways to address health disparities in rural areas with a focus on shifting away from the deficit narrative of rural places. Explores definitions of rural, the diversity and intersectionality of rural citizens, and how to conduct participatory community research to promote partnerships and health equity in rural communities.
Author(s): R.A. Afifi, E.A. Parker, G. Dino, D.M. Hall, B. Ulin
Citation: Annual Review of Public Health, 43, 135-154
Date: 04/2022
Type: Document
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Urban Area Criteria for the 2020 Census-Final Criteria
Outlines the final criteria for defining urban areas based on the 2020 decennial census. Adopts a housing unit density threshold of 385 housing units per square mile as the primary criterion for determining whether a census block qualifies for inclusion in an urban area and that an area will qualify as urban if it contains at least 2,000 housing units or has a population of at least 5,000. Explains that the Census Bureau will no longer differentiate urbanized areas from smaller urban areas.
Date: 03/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Which Definition of Rurality Should I Use?: The Relative Performance of 8 Federal Rural Definitions in Identifying Rural-Urban Disparities
Study comparing 8 definitions of rural used by the federal government in order to understand how often the same areas were identified as rural and to measure rural-urban disparities related to socioeconomic status, demographics, healthcare access, and health outcomes. Analyzes 20210 census tract-level spatial data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2014-2019 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) population estimates, the Provider of Services file, and the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System files from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Author(s): Julianna C. Long, Paul L. Delamater, George M. Holmes
Citation: Medical Care, 59, S413-S419
Date: 10/2021
Type: Document
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List of Rural Counties and Designated Eligible Census Tracts in Metropolitan Counties
Identifies areas with geographic eligibility for Federal Office of Rural Health Policy grant programs. Lists rural counties, rural census tracts within metropolitan counties, and outlying metropolitan counties without an Urbanized Area.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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Comment on Recommendations from the Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards Review Committee to Changes in Metropolitan and Micropolitan Area Standards
Offers comments in response to the Office of Management and Budget's proposed changes to the metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area standards. Discusses potential unintended consequences of the proposed changes and the broader implications of the definition of metropolitan on research and policy development.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
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County Reclassifications and Rural–Urban Mortality Disparities in the United States (1970–2018)
Examines urban and rural mortality disparities since 1970, comparing baseline changes to mortality rates by decade of reclassificiation of rural and urban counties based on CDC WONDER data. Describes the impact of reclassification on disparities and the importance of rural and urban classification in policy interventions.
Author(s): Matthew M. Brooks, J. Tom Mueller, Brian C. Thiede
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 110(12): 1814-1816
Date: 12/2020
Type: Document
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Last Updated: 2/8/2024