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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Poverty

Strengthening SNAP and TANF is Essential to Support Children in Early Childhood
Research brief examining participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in Virginia during children's first six years of life. Uses administrative data from the Virginia Longitudinal Data System to explore differences in participation by race and residence in rural versus urban counties.
Author(s): Colleen Heflin, Michah W. Rothbart, Mattie Mackenzie-Liu
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion
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The Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2020
Provides estimates of poverty for the official poverty measure and the supplemental poverty measure, which takes into account government programs that support low-income families. Appendix Tables 1, 2, and 8 provide data for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.
Author(s): Liana E. Fox, Kalee Burns
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Income and Poverty in the United States: 2020
Reports on income levels and poverty rates for 2019 and 2020, along with the percent change from 2019 to 2020. Includes statistics for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. Based on data from the 2021 and earlier Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements.
Author(s): Emily A. Shrider, Melissa Kollar, Frances Chen, Jessica Semega
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Changes in Socioeconomic Mix and Health Outcomes in Rural Counties with Hospital Closures, 2005-2018
Explores changes in socioeconomic mix and health outcomes that occurred in micropolitan and noncore counties with and without a complete hospital closure between 2005-2018, using the 2013 National Center for Health Statistics Rural Classification Scheme for Counties. Features statistics on number of counties that experienced hospital closures, percentage of hospital closures by Medicaid expansion status, trends in area unemployment and poverty rates and proportion of non-white residents across counties by closure status, and mortality rates, with breakdowns by micropolitan and noncore areas.
Author(s): Nathaniel Bell, Peiyin Hung, Kewei Shi, et al.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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National, Regional, State, and Selected Local Area Vaccination Coverage Among Adolescents Aged 13–17 Years — United States, 2020
Reports on vaccination coverage among U.S. adolescents ages 13 through 17. Includes data on vaccination coverage by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan residence and poverty status. Includes nonmetro data related to the following vaccines: Tdap (tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis), MenACWY (quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate), HPV (human papillomavirus), MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and varicella.
Author(s): Cassandra Pingali, David Yankey, Laurie D. Elam-Evans, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 70(35), 1183-1190
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Low-Income Households and Communities in North Carolina
Discusses impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on efforts to combat poverty and promote self-sufficiency in low-income communities across North Carolina. Presents excerpts from interviews with community leaders, and identifies takeaways related to the pandemic's impact on individuals, organizational strategies, partnerships and collaboration, and public health. Highlights rural communities and Black North Carolinians throughout, and covers topics including vaccination, internet access, mental health, and more. Provides recommendations for community action agencies.
Author(s): James H. Johnson Jr., Jeanne Milliken Bonds, Allan M. Parnell
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: North Carolina Community Action Association, Urban Investment Strategies Center
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Data Show U.S. Poverty Rates in 2019 Higher in Rural Areas than in Urban for Racial/Ethnic Groups
Bar chart comparing rural and urban percentages of residents living in poverty in 2019, broken down by race/ethnicity based on data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, and the 2019 American Community Survey.
Date: 08/2021
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Rural Counties With High and Persistent Poverty in 2019 Were Mostly Located Across the South
County-level map showing distribution of 310 rural counties with high and persistent levels of poverty according to 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) data.
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Rural Poverty Has Distinct Regional and Racial Patterns
Describes the findings of a study of persistent poverty, examining the prevalence of poverty in Appalachia, the Black Belt, the Mississippi Delta, the U.S.-Mexico border, and on Native American lands. Discusses the impacts of persistent poverty on access to healthcare, food access, social programs, and other support services.
Author(s): Tracey Farrigan
Citation: Amber Waves
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Leveraging Evidence-Based Policies to Improve Health, Control Costs, and Create Health Equity
Explores health inequities and healthcare access in marginalized populations, including racial and ethnic minority groups, sexual and gender minorities, people living in poverty and in rural communities, and people formerly incarcerated. Discusses strategies and policies to reduce inequities focused on access to healthcare, economic mobility, affordable housing, safe learning environments for young adults and children, and health-promoting excise taxes.
Author(s): Adam Lustig, Marilyn Cabrera
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Trust for America's Health
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