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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

The Opioid Crisis in the Pandemic Era
Analyzes trends in opioid use during the 2019-2021 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Provides information on the history of the opioid crisis and mortality rates by age, race/ethnicity, type of opioid, state, and urbanicity, including non-metro, small/medium metro, and large metro.
Additional links: Appendix
Author(s): Colin Planalp, Andrea Stewart
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, State Health Access Data Assistance Center
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QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Who Used the Internet in the Past 12 Months to Communicate with a Doctor or Doctor's Office, by Urbanization Level — National Health Interview Survey, United States, July–December 2022
Bar chart showing adult use of the internet to communicate with a doctor, with data by location of residence for metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 72(44), 1207
Date: 11/2023
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Vaccination Coverage by Age 24 Months Among Children Born in 2019 and 2020 — National Immunization Survey-Child, United States, 2020–2022
Examines vaccination coverage for selected vaccines and doses among children born in 2019-2020. Supplementary Table 1 includes data for metropolitan and nonmetro areas by year and vaccine for birth years 2016 through 2020.
Additional links: Supplementary Table 1
Author(s): Holly A. Hill, David Yankey, Laurie D. Elam-Evans, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 72(44), 1190-1196
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Tuberculosis Testing and Latent Tuberculosis Infection Treatment Practices Among Health Care Providers — United States, 2020–2022
Reports on the routine testing and type of testing for tuberculosis (TB) ordered by healthcare providers for non-U.S. born patients, as well as treatment regimens selected by healthcare providers for patients with TB. Includes data by healthcare provider location for urban, suburban, and rural areas.
Author(s): Elise Caruso, Joan M. Mangan, Allison Maiuri, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 72(44), 1183-1189
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Extra Episode - Rural Communities Opioid Response Program with Megan Meacham and Sarah O'Donell
Podcast episode featuring Megan Meacham and Sarah O'Donnell from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Describes the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP), which aims to improve access to substance use disorder, prevention, treatment, and recovery services in rural communities. Discusses examples of how RCORP grantees are effectively serving communities and tips for accessing resources to address the opioid crisis in tips for accessing resources to address the rural opioid crisis.
Date: 11/2023
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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Health is Primary: Charting a Path to Equity and Sustainability
Examines factors driving the downward trends in primary care, including fewer clinicians practicing primary care, fewer available appointments, lower spending on primary care, and fewer adults reporting that they have a usual source of primary care. Features a literature review, supply and demand analysis, and recommendations for potential solutions. Mentions rural throughout.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Slide Presentation
Author(s): Alison Huffstetler, Ann Greiner, Anam Siddiqi, et al.
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Primary Care Collaborative, Robert Graham Center
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Injury Death Risk Factors and Rurality
Offers maps and charts using County Health Data to show how various socioeconomic indicators impact homicide, vehicle accidents, and injuries for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document, Website
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Human Immunodeficiency Virus Diagnosis and Care among Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Who Are Publicly Insured
Evaluates human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing, diagnosis, and care among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, utilizing 2012 Medicare-Medicaid data. Identifies disparities related to ethnicity, geography, and more, including regional and rural/nonrural comparisons.
Author(s): T.G. James, M.S. Argenyi, A. Gravino, T.W. Benevides
Citation: Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 68(2), 150-163
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
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New Mexico Health Care Workforce Committee: 2023 Annual Report
Provides detailed data at the county level, comparing New Mexico's healthcare workforce to national benchmarks. Discusses rural and frontier area shortages, health workforce migration trends, potential solutions for solving the state's workforce issues (including in rural areas), and updates on previous recommendations. Includes a special focus on the behavioral health workforce, and appendices include gap analyses of New Mexico healthcare professions by county.
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
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Geographic Differences in the Magnitude of Black-White Disparities in Having Obesity
Compares the magnitude of Black-White obesity disparities in rural and urban areas with U.S. regional comparisons, utilizing data from the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Assesses rural-urban status by county-level Index of Relative Rurality quintile.
Author(s): Steven A. Cohen, Monique J. Brown, Furong Xu, Caitlin C. Nash, Mary L. Greaney
Citation: Obesity Science & Practice, 9(5), 516-528
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
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