Rural Health
Resources by Topic: COVID-19

An Ecological Study of COVID-19 Outcomes among Florida Counties
Examines variations in COVID-19 case rate, mortality rate, and case fatality rate (CFR) across Florida counties. Provides county-level data as well as rural versus urban comparisons of COVID-19 impacts during pandemic waves.
Author(s): Sobur Ali, Taj Azarian
Citation: BMC Public Health, 25, 579
Date: 02/2025
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Trends in Emergency Department, Primary Care, and Behavioral Health Use for Pediatric Mental Health Conditions in Virginia Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Examines the relationship between access to primary and behavioral care and pediatric emergency department (ED) visits. Utilizes 2016-2021 data from the Virginia All-Payers Claims Database to analyze pediatric ED visits, mental health ED visits, ED visits for suicidality, and 2016 versus 2021 ED visits by various sociodemographic factors, including rural location.
Author(s): Jennifer L. Gilbert, Bergen B. Nelson, Jacqueline Britz, et al.
Citation: BMC Primary Care, 26, 54
Date: 02/2025
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Prevalence and Correlates of Forgone Care among Older Rural and Urban Medicare Beneficiaries during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Results of a study assessing rural-urban differences in forgone care among Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older, using data from June and July 2020. Also examines what types of care were most often forgone and what access barriers were most common. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural areas.
Author(s): Yvonne Jonk, Heidi O'Connor, Jean Talbot, Erica C. Ziller
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Bringing Pandemic Science to the Classroom: Building Public Health Capacity at a Rural Kentucky High School
Examines the multidisciplinary Wastewater Assessment for Coronavirus in Kentucky: Implementing Enhanced Surveillance Technology (WACKIEST) unit created for high school students to study the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. Discusses wastewater testing, public health surveillance, and public health education.
Author(s): Sahar Alameh, Anna G Hoover, James W Keck, et al.
Citation: Public Health Reports, 141(1), 17-23
Date: 01/2025
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Effectiveness of Frequent Point-of-Care Molecular COVID-19 Surveillance in a Rural Workplace: Nonrandomized Controlled Clinical Trial Among Miners
Examines the impact of a COVID-19 surveillance intervention utilizing point-of-care rapid antigen testing at rural mining sites in New Mexico and Wyoming from February 2021 to March 2022. Provides data on intervention acceptance, cumulative postbaseline seropositivity, and diagnostic accuracy.
Author(s): Akshay Sood, William "Cotton" Jarrell, Xin W. Shore, et al.
Citation: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 2025(11), e59845
Date: 01/2025
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Urban and Rural Differences in Cancer Treatment Disruption Among Patients With COVID-19: An Analysis of the US ASCO COVID-19 in Oncology Registry
Examines rural and urban experiences of cancer treatment delay or discontinuation associated with COVID-19 between March 2020 and September 2022, utilizing data of 3,797 cancer patients from the American Society of Clinical Oncology Survey on COVID-19 in Oncology Registry. Includes data breakdowns by demographic and clinical factors.
Author(s): Yu Chen Lin, Kea Turner, Oliver T. Nguyen, et al.
Citation: Cancer Medicine, 14(2), e70512
Date: 01/2025
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Food Security Status Across the Rural-Urban Continuum Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Examines food insecurity across the rural-urban continuum and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food access in various locations. Utilizes 2015-2019 and 2020-2021 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement (CPS FSS) data to analyze food security according to urban, large rural city/town, small rural town, or isolated rural town/area.
Author(s): Patrick J. Brady, Melissa N. Laska, Rachel Widome, Sruthi Valluri
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Lessons from the Pandemic: Relationship Between Patient Visits and Patient Length of Stay in California's Health System
Examines impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient utilization of California hospitals. Analyzes 2019-2021 COVID-19 cases, mortality, patient length of stay (LOS), and more in 56 California counties, with rural versus urban comparisons.
Author(s): David D. Cho, Yu Wang
Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems, 23, 11
Date: 01/2025
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Examining Differences in Rural and Urban Medicare FFS Beneficiaries' Emergency Department Use Before and During COVID-19
Results of a study describing changes from 2018-2022 in emergency department use among rural and urban Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) beneficiaries. Features statistics including patient demographics, primary diagnoses, and admission sources, with breakdowns by urban and rural areas.
Author(s): Alana Knudson, Craig D. Holden, Marilyn Klug, Tricia Stauffer, Shena Popat
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
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Understanding the Impact and Costs Associated with Medical Device Shortages During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Providers, Health Systems, Patients, and Manufacturers
Analyzes the U.S. medical device shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic and provides a related literature review, key stakeholder interviews, and data synthesis. Includes information on type of medical device shortages, strategies to manage shortages, and more, with a focus on shortages in nursing homes and rural hospitals.
Author(s): Linda Thai, Trinidad Beleche, Oluwarantimi Adetunji
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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