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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals, 2024
Offers resources highlighting data from the American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey. Provides data on the number of hospitals by type, ownership, system-affiliated versus independent, and rural versus urban location. Includes an interactive map of community hospitals in the United States.
Additional links: Infographics from Fast Facts on U.S. Hospitals, 2024
Date: 2024
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Tennessee Birth Defects Data Report 2016-2020
Provides information on the prevalence of 46 major birth defects for children born in Tennessee in the years 2016-2020. Features statistics including rate of cases for rural and metro areas.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Tennessee Department of Health
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Behavioral Health Workforce, 2023
Offers data on the supply and distribution of the behavioral health workforce and factors impacting that workforce. Includes projected workforce shortages to 2036 and compares rural and urban shortages. Discusses unmet needs for different populations, scope of practice, reimbursement rates, retention, and workforce wellbeing. Describes strategies to improve access to behavioral healthcare around integrated care, community health workers, and telehealth.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Workforce Analysis
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Washington Long-Term Care Workforce Initiative Legislative Report
Provides an overview of long-term care (LTC) for older adults in Washington and the available LTC workforce. Focuses on workforce demand, initiatives and projects to improve the LTC workforce, and policy recommendations. Provides LTC data for rural Washington, including average facility patient count, staffing hours, number of nursing homes per rural county, and more.
Author(s): Donald J. Smith Jr., Christopher W. Dula, Claire M. Fite, et al.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
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Annual Report on the New Hampshire Health Care Workforce and Data Collection: Calendar Year 2023
Includes aggregate data and information on current and projected New Hampshire primary workforce needs and the participation rate on surveys completed by clinicians for the Health Professions Data Center. Features a state map showing rural and nonrural New Hampshire regional public health networks, and statistics on demographics, barriers to care, substance use and mental health, and maternal health. Includes license renewal data for various providers types, and workforce data on physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and physician assistants, including percentage in rural regions.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, New Hampshire Rural Health & Primary Care
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Rural and Nonrural Racial Variation in Mentally Unhealthy Days: Findings from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System in North Carolina, 2015–2019
Compares rates at which rural and nonrural Black and White North Carolinians experience days with stress, depression, and problems with emotions, utilizing 2015-2019 North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data. Discusses social factors which may influence racial mental health disparities in rural areas.
Author(s): Caroline R. Efird, Derrick D. Matthews, Kathryn E. Muessig, et al.
Citation: SSM - Mental Health, 3, 100199
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
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Pediatric Vaccination Rates in Rural America
Policy position paper regarding declining vaccination rates of children in rural communities. Compares rural and urban childhood vaccination rates and the potential for increasing health disparities. Describes a "5As of vaccine access" policy framework to evaluate current and future immunization policies and proposals. Offers recommended actions for federal, state, and local governments and organizations to improve rural vaccine uptake.
Author(s): Cynthia Calixte, Nitika Moibi, Andrea Stephenson Royster
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Improving the Maternity Care Safety Net: Establishing Maternal Mortality Surveillance for Non-Obstetric Providers and Institutions
Examines a quality improvement plan implemented by the Veterans Health Administration (VA) that utilizes system-level surveillance to monitor non-obstetric care for pregnant veterans. Examines maternal mortality of veterans using VA maternity care benefits, with 2011-2020 data broken down by age, race/ethnicity, and rural versus urban location.
Author(s): Joan L. Combellick, Bridget Basile Ibrahim, Aryan Esmaeili, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(1), 37
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
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Research Note Showing That the Rural Mortality Penalty Varies by Region, Race, and Ethnicity in the United States, 1999–2016
Evaluates rural mortality penalties by region, race, and ethnicity using 1999-2016 CDC WONDER data. Identifies regional variations in metro versus nonmetro mortality disparities experienced by Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, White, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native populations.
Author(s): Danielle Rhubart, Alexis Santos
Citation: Demography, 60(6), 1699-1709
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
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Rural Disparities in Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Health among Utah Prostate Cancer Survivors
Poster analyzing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease diagnosis among rural and urban prostate cancer survivors in Utah, utilizing Utah SEER Cancer Registry and Utah Population Database data for diagnoses between 1997 and 2015. Identifies rural-urban disparities in disease incidence rates, demographic characteristics, and first-course treatment methods.
Author(s): Shaelee Nielsen, Brock O'Neil, Bayarmaa Mark, Mia Hashibe
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
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