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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Infectious diseases

We Are All in This Together: Rurality, Social Cohesion, and COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors
Examines how social cohesion, rurality, and individual behaviors to prevent COVID-19 are related. Analyzes 2,926 participant survey responses in 2021 according to COVID-19 experiences and attitudes, social distancing behaviors, and tendencies to remain home while sick, with data broken down by demographic variables such as rural versus urban, age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, and marriage status. Discusses the importance of understanding rural culture and behaviors when communicating public health strategies.
Author(s): Radhika Sood, Juliette Entenman, Erin Kitt-Lewis, et al.
Citation: The Journal of Rural Health, 40(1), 154-161
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
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Early Financial Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on U.S. Hospitals
Examines how hospital profitability changed during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Explores the association between COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations and county-level variables to operating margins (OMs) and total margins (TMs). Presents data by hospital characteristics, including size and Critical Access Hospital status, and compares findings from urban and rural hospitals.
Author(s): Kate Li, Mona Al-Amin, Michael D. Rosko
Citation: Journal of Healthcare Management, 68(4), 268-283
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
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COVID-19 Working Paper: Obesity Prevalence Among U.S. Adult Subpopulations During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Explores obesity disparities among adults before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the first year of the pandemic. Uses data from the 2011-2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to estimate changes in obesity rates and compares rates across demographic and socioeconomic subgroups, including urban-rural status, Census region, age group, race and ethnicity, and more.
Author(s): Mariah D. Ehmke, Brandon J. Restrepo
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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COVID-19 Hospital Encounters by Urban-Rural Location of the Hospital by Week From Selected Hospitals
Line chart showing hospitals' percentage of confirmed COVID-19 encounters among all emergency department or inpatient encounters. Includes data from March 2020 through December 2022 for large central and fringe metro areas, medium and small metro areas, and rural areas.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Spotlight on HIV, STD, & Viral Hepatitis: Indiana Annual 2022 Surveillance Report
Provides data on HIV, STDs, & viral hepatitis in Indiana through 2022, with breakdowns according to mode of transmission, age at diagnosis, race/ethnicity, and county.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Indiana Department of Health
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Urban-Rural Disparities in Interfacility Transfers for Children During COVID-19
Presents a study on the rates of rural and urban pediatric interfacility transfers (IFTs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Compares IFT rates from before the pandemic. Breaks down rural and urban data by medical complexity, transfer type, and census region, among other measures.
Author(s): Corrie E. McDaniel, DO,1,2 JoAnna K. Leyenaar, MD, PhD, MPH,3,4 Mersine A. Bryan, et al
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(3), 611-616
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
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Changes in Buprenorphine Visits in Frontier and Remote Locations: Effects of the SARS-COV-2 Pandemic
Evaluated patient appointments offering buprenorphine prescriptions in the 55 weeks before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to determine the impact of the pandemic and pandemic-era policies on buprenorphine access for frontier residents in the Great Plains region.
Author(s): Lisa M. McFadden
Citation: Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 7, 100155
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
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Arkansas State Plan on Aging: Fiscal Years 2024-2027
Provides direction for long-term care efforts in the state of Arkansas. Focuses on implementation of the Older American Act (OAA), COVID-19 recovery, equity, access to home and community-based services, and caregiving infrastructure. Highlights population data on rural Arkansas citizens and rural-specific priorities.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Arkansas Department of Human Services
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Telehealth Adoption in Kentucky Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Reports statistics and data on the adoption of telehealth, including remote patient monitoring, in Kentucky before the COVID-19 pandemic. Compares rural and urban areas with U.S. averages, and highlights adoption rates in Critical Access and short-term acute care hospitals. Discusses the implications of pre-pandemic telehealth adoption for COVID-19 response in Kentucky.
Author(s): Claudia A. Rhoades
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Community & Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky
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Rural Relocators: COVID-19 and Rural Population Growth
Compares population growth in rural and urban North Carolina in context of COVID-19 using U.S. Census and NC Office of State Budget and Management data. Identifies trends before the COVID-19 public health emergency and during its first and second years, and discusses contributing factors. Presents county-level maps of population change as well as graphs comparing data of rural, suburban, and urban counties, and also provides a table of county-level population data.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Center
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