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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health disparities

South Carolina's Rural Health Action Plan
Describes South Carolina's plan to improve rural health outcomes, including 5 areas of focus, 15 recommendations, and 50+ action steps, intended to spur progress over the following 3-5 years. Focus areas include access to care, community assets leadership and engagement (CALE), economic development, education, and housing.
Additional links: Brief
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: South Carolina Office of Rural Health
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Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities Among Rural Adults — United States, 2012-2015
Reports on racial/ethnic health disparities among rural residents. Includes data by race/ethnicity for health-related quality of life, healthcare access and use, chronic health conditions, and health-related behaviors. Based on data from the 2012–2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Author(s): Cara V. James, Ramal Moonesinghe, Shondelle M. Wilson-Frederick, et al.
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 66(23), 1-9
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Indian Health Focus: Injuries 2017 Edition
Highlights a report on the mortality rates for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Details causes of death and compares rates to other races and to the U.S. as a whole.
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Indian Health Service
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Direct Effects of the Home, School, and Consumer Food Environments on the Association Between Food Purchasing Patterns and Dietary Intake among Rural Adolescents in Kentucky and North Carolina, 2017
Analyzes the effects of food shopping habits and food environments in the home, school, and consumer settings on dietary intake among rural adolescents living in Kentucky and North Carolina. Discusses habit and environment as potential influences on rural-urban adolescent obesity disparities.
Author(s): Alison Gustafson, Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, Jordan McDonald, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(10), 1255
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
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Community Living for American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian Elders
Presents an issue brief detailing commonalities in American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities with respect to Native Elders. Discusses historical trauma, the resulting treaties, health disparities, and traditional practices of Native Elders. Looks at how Native Elders interact with the healthcare system and the programs and services designed to support them within their communities.
Author(s): Jane Tilly, Kristen Hudgins
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Community Living
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Improving Health in the Mississippi Delta through Powerful Engagement
Describes financial, educational, and healthcare challenges experienced by residents in the Mississippi Delta. Discusses the Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation, a cancer awareness and prevention program working in rural, African American communities to create a network focused on education, outreach, and advocacy related to cancer.
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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2016 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report: Chartbook on Rural Health Care
Summarizes trends in healthcare quality and disparities for rural populations. Includes quality measures for access to healthcare, patient safety, person- and family-centered care, care coordination, affordability, healthy living, and effective treatment.
Author(s): Barbara Barton, Irim Azam
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Despair as a Cause of Death: More Complex Than It First Appears
Describes studies showing urban-rural and racial/ethnic comparisons of premature deaths due to self-destructive behaviors and possible underlying social and economic factors in the communities.
Author(s): Ana V. Diez Roux
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 107(10), 1566-1567
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
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The Epidemic of Despair Among White Americans: Trends in the Leading Causes of Premature Death, 1999–2015
Evaluates trends in cause-specific death rates for adults ages 25-64, from 1999-2001 and 2013-2015. Features statistics including cause of death, age, race, and urbanization level in the United States, with breakdowns by large urban, suburban, small/medium metropolitan, and rural areas.
Author(s): Elizabeth M. Stein, Keith P. Gennuso, Donna C. Ugboaja, Patrick L. Remington
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 107(10), 1541-1547
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
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Access To Obstetric Services In Rural Counties Still Declining, With 9 Percent Losing Services, 2004-14
Results of a study identifying gaps in the availability of hospital-based obstetric services in rural America, and providing evidence of disparities in local access to obstetric services in vulnerable rural communities. Includes statistics on percentages of rural counties by status of hospital obstetric services from 2004–14, with breakdowns by micropolitan or noncore location, and a county-level map with shadings indicating full closure, continuous services, or no services.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Carrie E. Henning-Smith, Michelle M. Casey, Katy B. Kozhimannil
Citation: Health Affairs, 36(9), 1663-1671
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
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