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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health disparities

Home Health Utilization in the Veterans Health Administration: Are there Rural and Urban Differences?
Examines home health usage and access among veterans in rural and urban areas. Utilizes 2019-2021 Veterans Health Administration (VA) data to analyze rural versus urban home health use, with data broken down by patient sociodemographic variables as well as number of visits.
Author(s): Heather Davila, Bradely Mayfield, Michelle A. Mengeling, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(1), e12865
Date: 2025
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The Uneven Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Rural and Urban Black, Latino/a, and White Mortality
Examines mortality rates and the corresponding impact of Medicaid expansion on Black, Latino/a, and White populations, broken down by rural versus urban location. Utilizes 2009-2019 data of Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATET) estimates to provide statistical breakdowns and graphic representation of how Medicaid expansion has impacted mortality rates for varying populations.
Author(s): J. Tom Mueller, Regina S. Baker, Matthew M. Brooks
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(1), e12859
Date: 2025
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Associations Between COVID-19 Therapies and Outcomes in Rural and Urban America: A Multisite, Temporal Analysis from the Alpha to Omicron SARS-CoV-2 Variants
Examines COVID-19 treatment, health outcomes, and mortality disparities in rural and urban areas of the United States. Analyzes 2021-2023 National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) data from 3,018,646 patients to break down COVID-19 disparities according to patient demographics, vaccine status, comorbidities, U.S. Census region, and adverse inpatient events, as well as urban, urban-adjacent, or nonurban-adjacent location.
Author(s): A. Jerrod Anzalone, William H. Beasley, Kimberly Murray, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(1), e12857
Date: 2025
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Arizona State Health Assessment, 2024
Reports on the health of people in Arizona, including population subgroups, social determinants of health, and priority health issues. Discusses health and access disparities in rural, tribal, and border areas. Includes county-level data.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Department of Health Services
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CMS Office of Minority Health: Health Equity Data Book
Provides data on disparities in participation in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) programs, including data on demographics of covered individuals, chronic conditions, behavioral health conditions, and social determinants of health. Contains rural data for select programs.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Rural Versus Urban Genitourinary Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Pennsylvania: 1990–2019
Analyzes genitourinary (GU) cancer incidence and mortality in rural and urban Pennsylvania counties. Utilizes 1990-2019 Pennsylvania Cancer Registry data, examining rural and urban changes in GU cancer over time, with data breakdowns for prostate, bladder, and kidney cancers.
Author(s): Jonathan Pham, Ahmad N Alzubaidi, Jay D Raman, Tullika Garg
Citation: Current Oncology, 31(12), 8110-8117
Date: 12/2024
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Disparities and Gaps in Breast Cancer Screening for Women Aged 40 to 49 Years
Analyzes disparities in breast cancer screening among women aged 40 to 49 years, utilizing National Health Interview Survey data for the years 2019 and 2021. See included Figure and Table for rural-urban comparisons.
Author(s): Tianshu Gu, Jing Yuan, Shelley White-Means, Minghui Li
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(12), e2451827
Date: 12/2024
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Healthy Border 2030: Collaborative Action to Improve the Health and Wellbeing of the United States - Mexico Border Population
Reports on the prevailing public health issues occurring in U.S.-Mexico border populations. Assesses health data and provides strategic recommendations to promote health, prevent disease, and support population health at the binational, state, and local levels.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: United States-México Border Health Commission
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Maternal Mortality in Tennessee: Annual Report 2024
Findings from Tennessee's review of maternal deaths, focusing on pregnancy-related deaths from 2020-2022. Examines trends, leading causes, contributing factors, and disparities, and outlines recommendations to reduce pregnancy-related deaths and improve maternal health outcomes. Features statistics on pregnancy-related mortality rate by social drivers of health, with breakdowns by rural or urban residence.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Tennessee Department of Health
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2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report
Report highlights the rate of suicide among veterans and the VA's role in suicide prevention. Discusses the causes of veteran suicide and the steps the VA is taking for suicide prevention. Breaks down rates of suicide by sex, contact with the VHA, and rurality, among other factors. The 2024 report is split into two parts. The second part is added as and additional link.
Additional links: Data Appendix, Part 2: Report Findings
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
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