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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Midwest Urban-Rural Differences in Cancer Prevalence
Analyzes cancer prevalence by level of rurality in a midwestern region, utilizing Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) data of 647,909 people who lived in a 27-county region of Minnesota and Wisconsin as of January 2020. Includes data breakdowns by level of rurality and place of cancer, smoking status, sex, age, and other demographic factors.
Author(s): Christine M. Prissel, Brandon R. Grossardt, Lila J. Finney Rutten, et al.
Citation: Mayo Clinic Proceedings
Date: 05/2025
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The Social Work Workforce in South Carolina - 2021
Profiles the demographic and workplace characteristics of the clinical social work workforce in South Carolina, using data provided by clinical social workers during their 2021 license renewal period. Features statistics including numbers and percentages of clinical social workers in South Carolina, with breakdowns by rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Ashlyn Chastain-Brown, Bo Fu, K. Gaul
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium
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South Carolina Nurse Practitioner Workforce - 2022
Profiles the demographic and workplace characteristics of the nurse practitioner (NP) workforce in South Carolina, using data provided by NPs during their 2022 license renewal period. Features statistics on the change in the size of the South Carolina NP workforce from 2012-2022 and characteristics of this workforce, with breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, and nonmetropolitan location.
Author(s): Cate Campbell, K. Gaul
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium
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South Carolina Registered Nurse Workforce - 2022
Profiles the demographic and workplace characteristics of the registered nurse (RN) workforce in South Carolina, using data provided by nurses during their 2022 license renewal period. Features statistics on the change in the size of the South Carolina RN workforce from 2012-2022 and characteristics of this workforce, with breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, and nonmetropolitan location.
Author(s): Melissa Fluharty, Cate Campbell, K. Gaul
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium
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Emergency Department Boarding, Inpatient Census, and Interhospital Transfer Acceptances
Examines hospital crowding by analyzing associations between emergency department (ED) boarding and inpatient census with interhospital transfer (IHT) acceptances. Utilizes 2019-2023 data from an academic, level I trauma center in a southwestern state to compare urban and rural transfer requests and if the requests were accepted or denied.
Author(s): Margaret Greenwood-Ericksen, Neil Kamdar, Kjirsten Swenson, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(5)
Date: 05/2025
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Minnesota Data Brief: Suicide Mortality Steady in 2024 - Rate is Lower than Historical High from 2022
Data brief examining deaths by suicide in Minnesota for the year 2024, including year-by-year and demographic data breakdowns. See page 4 for 2024 data on suicide rates by level of rurality.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Health
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Early Estimates of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities and Fatality Rate by Sub-Categories in 2024
Presents projections of traffic fatalities and the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2024. Includes data for rural versus urban roads, among other measures. Compares 2023 fatality data to 2024 rates by month for a number of indicators, including rural areas.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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Public Transit Supports for Food Access: 2021 National Survey of Community-Based Policy and Environmental Supports for Healthy Eating and Active Living (CBS HEAL)
Examines public transit availability and planning, presence of demand responsive transportation (DRT), and DRT services to food retail destinations in 1,956 municipalities. Provides data on demographic disparities in public transit access and planning, including rural-urban disparities. Discusses health impacts of access to healthy food and the importance of planning for adequate public transit.
Author(s): Brianna L. Smarsh, Young Shin Park, Seung Hee Lee, Diane M. Harris, Heidi M. Blanck
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 22, 240458
Date: 05/2025
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Development of Chronic Pain and High-Impact Chronic Pain Across the US Rural–Urban Continuum, 2019–2020
Examines the prevalence of chronic pain across large central metro, large fringe metro, medium and small metro, and nonmetropolitan locations in the United States. Utilizes 2019–2020 National Health Interview Survey Longitudinal Cohort (NHIS-LC) data to analyze the severity of pain by demographic variables, region, and rural versus urban location.
Author(s): Feinuo Sun, Yulin Yang, Richard L. Nahin
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(2)
Date: 05/2025
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Who Regularly Uses the Nutrition Facts Label? Exploring Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Geographic Differences
Analyzes the consumers who regularly read nutrition facts labels when purchasing food. Utilizes National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data to examine label use by demographic and household characteristics, dietary and spending behaviors, nutrition information use measures, and geographic characteristics, including small/medium metropolitan area versus nonmetropolitan area.
Additional links: Report Summary
Author(s): Brandon J. Restrepo
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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