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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Child Poverty in Rural America
Policy brief describing the needs, challenges, and experiences of rural children and families living in poverty and how poverty affects their health. Offers recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop appropriate and integrated health and human service delivery programs and to create flexible grant opportunities that will reach children and families in need.
Date: 12/2015
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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QuickStats: Percentage of U.S. Adults Who Looked up Health Information on the Internet in the Past Year, by Type of Locality - National Health Interview Survey, 2012–2014
Bar chart showing the percentage of adults who searched for health information online, comparing rates for those living in metropolitan and nonmetro counties.
Author(s): Deborah D. Ingram, Shilpa Bengeri
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 64(49), 1367
Date: 12/2015
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Syringe Service Programs for Persons Who Inject Drugs in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas - United States, 2013
Describes characteristics of syringe service programs in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Includes information on program size, number of syringes exchanged, total funding, and whether public funding supports the program. Discusses the increase in opiate overdoses and prescription opiate use in rural areas and concerns related to the availability of syringe exchange programs in these areas.
Author(s): Don C. Des Jarlais, Ann Nugent, Alisa Solberg, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 64(48), 1337-41
Date: 12/2015
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Development and Validation of a Farmers' Market Audit Tool in Rural and Urban Communities
Describes a tool designed to measure availability of food items and key characteristics of farmers markets. Features statistics from 6 test sites in Kentucky, Montana, and North Carolina, showing differences among states and between urban and rural locations.
Author(s): Carmen Byker Shanks, Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, Alison Gustafson
Citation: Health Promotion Practice, 16(6), 859-866
Date: 11/2015
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Is Availability of Mammography Services at Federally Qualified Health Centers Associated with Breast Cancer Mortality-to-Incidence Ratios? An Ecological Analysis
Explores associations between access to mammography services at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and breast cancer mortality-to-incidence ratios in every county in the United States using 2006-2010 data from the National Cancer Institute State Cancer Profile. Figure 1 illustrates FQHCs and breast cancer mortality-to-incidence ratios.
Author(s): Swann Arp Adams, Seul Ki Choi, Jan M. Eberth, et al.
Citation: Journal of Women's Health, 24(11), 916-923
Date: 11/2015
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Rural Adults Delay, Forego, and Strategize to Afford Their Pre-ACA Health Care
Provides an in-depth discussion regarding rural and urban adults under the age of 65 and their perceptions of the affordability of health insurance coverage and health services prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Author(s): Erika C. Ziller, Jennifer D. Lenardson, Andrew F. Coburn
Date: 11/2015
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Rural Disabled Medicare Beneficiaries Spend More Out-of-Pocket Than Their Urban Counterparts
Analyzes differences in healthcare out-of-pocket spending, supplemental coverage, and spending by type of service between rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries. Also examines rural-urban differences for Medicare beneficiaries who qualify based on disability status.
Author(s): Erika C. Ziller, Jennifer D. Lenardson, Andrew F. Coburn
Date: 11/2015
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Estimated Prevalence of Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities Following Questionnaire Changes in the 2014 National Health Interview Survey
Reports estimates on the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and other development delay, after a change in the development delay questions in the National Health Interview Survey. Tables include data for metropolitan and nonmetro areas.
Author(s): Benjamin Zablotsky, Lindsey I. Black, Matthew J. Maenner, Laura A. Schieve, Stephen J. Blumberg
Date: 11/2015
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged 18-64 Years Who Did Not Get or Delayed Medical Care in the Past Year Because of Cost, by Type of Locality - National Health Interview Survey, 2012-2014
Chart showing the percentage of adults living in metropolitan compared to nonmetropolitan areas who delayed seeking or obtaining medical care because of worry about cost.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 64(44),1259
Date: 11/2015
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Current Contraceptive Use and Variation by Selected Characteristics Among Women Aged 15-44: United States, 2011-2013
Describes patterns of contraceptive use among women of childbearing age who are currently using contraception, by social and demographic characteristics. Table 5 provides 2011-2013 and 2002 data by place of residence for metropolitan and non-metro areas.
Author(s): Kimberly Daniels, Jill Daugherty, Jo Jones, William Mosher
Date: 11/2015
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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