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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

As Fatal Overdoses Rise, Many Americans See Drug Addiction as a Major Problem in Their Community
Highlights the results of a Pew Research Center survey on fatal drug overdoses and public concern about the opioid crisis. Features data comparing rural, urban, and suburban areas.
Author(s): John Gramlich
Date: 05/2018
Sponsoring organization: Pew Research Center
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Nursing Home Infection Control Program Characteristics, CMS Citations, and Implementation of Antibiotic Stewardship Policies: A National Study
Results of a study of 2,514 nursing homes to assess infection preventionist training and certification, staff turnover, and infection control program characteristics. Features statistics on facility characteristics, with breakdowns by locations in metro, large urban, small urban, or rural areas.
Author(s): Patricia W. Stone, Carolyn T.A. Herzig, Mansi Agarwal, Monika Pogorzelska-Maziarz, Andrew W. Dick
Citation: Inquiry, 55:1-7
Date: 05/2018
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Insurance and Access to Care in Urban and Rural Areas, 2014-2015
Statistical brief using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component to examine the percentages of people uninsured, those without a usual source of care, and those reporting unmet needs for medical or dental care and prescription drugs. Features statistics including selected characteristics of the study population, with breakdowns by 3 population levels of metropolitan areas and 4 categories of nonmetro counties.
Author(s): James B. Kirby, Pradip Muhuri
Date: 05/2018
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Improving Rural Oral Healthcare Access
Policy position brief discussing the oral and systemic health connection and the dental workforce shortage. Highlights the need for interprofessional education and offers recommendations for improving access to rural oral healthcare.
Author(s): Joni Nelson, Jacob Thatcher, Joy Williams
Date: 05/2018
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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EMS Services in Rural America: Challenges and Opportunities
Policy brief describing challenges for rural EMS providers, including workforce shortages and inconsistent funding. Features statistics including percentage of potentially excess deaths for 5 leading causes of death, with breakdowns by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and average EMS call time response and distribution of all-volunteer and all-paid staff EMS agencies, with breakdowns by 4 levels of population density. Discusses effects of the opioid crisis and Critical Access Hospital closures on provision of EMS services.
Author(s): Nikki King, Marcus Pigman, Sarah Huling, Brian Hanson
Date: 05/2018
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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A Comparative Analysis of New York's Active Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants
Research brief using data drawn from survey responses collected between September 2015 - December 2017, exploring similarities and differences between New York state physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Features statistics with breakdowns by rural and urban practice locations.
Author(s): Yuhao Liu, Robert Martiniano, Jean Moore
Date: 05/2018
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
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What Unites and Divides Urban, Suburban and Rural Communities
Report highlights different outcomes and opinions of people in rural, suburban, and urban communities on a number of topics, including demographic shifts, urgent problems, and life satisfaction, among others. Features demographic data, a county level breakdown, and a case study highlighting a rural, suburban, and urban county.
Additional links: Full Report
Author(s): Kim Parker, Juliana Horowitz, Anna Brown, et al.
Date: 05/2018
Sponsoring organization: Pew
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Reporting of Indian Health Service Coverage in the American Community Survey
Evaluates the extent to which American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) people incorrectly report Indian Health Services (IHS) coverage in the American Community Services (ACS), as well as characteristics associated with false negative and false positive misreporting. Includes data on urban/rural residence. Findings based on a comparison of the IHS portion of the 2014 ACS health insurance question to whether or not individuals are in the 2014 IHS Patient Registration data.
Author(s): Renuka Bhaskar, Rachel M. Shattuck, James Noon
Date: 05/2018
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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The Health Care Workforce: Addressing Shortages and Improving Care
Testimony in the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions on May 22, 2018. Examines the growing problem of healthcare shortages in rural areas and the response by the federal government. Also explores how well healthcare professionals are being trained and why they choose the geographical areas where they work. Focuses on shortages of physicians, nurses, and professionals specializing in care of older adults.
Additional links: Testimony by Elizabeth A. Phelan, Testimony by Julie Tanner Sanford, Testimony by Kristen H. Goodell
Author(s): Kristen Goodell, Julie Sanford, Elizabeth Phelan
Date: 05/2018
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2018
Provides a national and state-by-state overview of population health for older adults across 34 measures, as well as two supplemental measures new in 2018: suicide rate and risk of social isolation. Includes a special focus on persistent health differences and challenges facing rural seniors.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 05/2018
Sponsoring organization: United Health Foundation
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