Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences
Vulnerability Index Approach to Identify Pharmacy Deserts and Keystone Pharmacies
Discusses the importance of improving pharmacy access in rural and low-income areas. Utilizes data from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) dataQ to examine travel time to nearest pharmacy according to urbanicity. Defines a pharmacy vulnerability index according to this measure and reports on residents in the the contiguous U.S. living in or at risk of living in a pharmacy desert, with comparisons for small rural, large rural, suburban, and urban.
Author(s): Walter S. Mathis, Lucas A. Berenbrok, Peter A. Kahn, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(3)
Date: 03/2025
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Discusses the importance of improving pharmacy access in rural and low-income areas. Utilizes data from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) dataQ to examine travel time to nearest pharmacy according to urbanicity. Defines a pharmacy vulnerability index according to this measure and reports on residents in the the contiguous U.S. living in or at risk of living in a pharmacy desert, with comparisons for small rural, large rural, suburban, and urban.
Author(s): Walter S. Mathis, Lucas A. Berenbrok, Peter A. Kahn, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(3)
Date: 03/2025
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Skilled Nursing Facility Services: Chapter 6
Discusses payment adequacy for skilled nursing facility (SNF) services. Features statistics on SNF care provided by rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) via swing beds and Medicare margins for urban, rural, and frontier freestanding SNFs in 2023.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Discusses payment adequacy for skilled nursing facility (SNF) services. Features statistics on SNF care provided by rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) via swing beds and Medicare margins for urban, rural, and frontier freestanding SNFs in 2023.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Home Health Care Services: Chapter 7
Discusses payment adequacy for home health care services. Features statistics on Medicare margins for home health agencies between 2019-2023 with breakdowns by urban and rural areas, a comparison of patient-experience quality measures by urban and rural status, and the number of home health periods provided to rural beneficiaries.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Discusses payment adequacy for home health care services. Features statistics on Medicare margins for home health agencies between 2019-2023 with breakdowns by urban and rural areas, a comparison of patient-experience quality measures by urban and rural status, and the number of home health periods provided to rural beneficiaries.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Hospice Services: Chapter 9
Discusses payment adequacy for hospice and palliative support services. Includes data on average costs by day and aggregate margins by urban and rural status, as well as demographics on Medicare decedents who used hospice during 2010 and between 2019-2023. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Discusses payment adequacy for hospice and palliative support services. Includes data on average costs by day and aggregate margins by urban and rural status, as well as demographics on Medicare decedents who used hospice during 2010 and between 2019-2023. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Time to Work Together: Our Roles in Keeping and Attracting Residents
Provides data, information, and Minnesota maps related to migration patterns, county-level demographics and recreation categories, population changes, and more, with breakdowns according to entirely rural, town/rural mix, and urban/town/rural mix.
Author(s): Kelly Asche
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Policy and Development
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Provides data, information, and Minnesota maps related to migration patterns, county-level demographics and recreation categories, population changes, and more, with breakdowns according to entirely rural, town/rural mix, and urban/town/rural mix.
Author(s): Kelly Asche
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Policy and Development
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Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease Prevalence by Race and Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, Urbanicity, and Social Determinants of Health Among Medicare Beneficiaries With Diabetes
Examines demographic disparities in cardiovascular disease prevalence among people with diabetes, utilizing 2015–2019 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data. Includes sociodemographic data, including rural-urban comparisons, on crude and adjusted prevalence of myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure.
Author(s): Xilin Zhou, Joohyun Park, Deborah B. Rolka, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 22, 240270
Date: 03/2025
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Examines demographic disparities in cardiovascular disease prevalence among people with diabetes, utilizing 2015–2019 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data. Includes sociodemographic data, including rural-urban comparisons, on crude and adjusted prevalence of myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure.
Author(s): Xilin Zhou, Joohyun Park, Deborah B. Rolka, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 22, 240270
Date: 03/2025
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QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years with Chronic Pain in the Past 3 Months, by Sex and Urbanization Level — United States, 2023
Bar chart showing the percentage of men and percentage of women that experienced chronic pain in the last three months in metropolitan compared to nonmetro areas.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(7), 125
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Bar chart showing the percentage of men and percentage of women that experienced chronic pain in the last three months in metropolitan compared to nonmetro areas.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(7), 125
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Private Childcare Establishments per 1,000 Children in Rural Areas Have Increased but Are Now Less than in Urban Areas
Bar chart comparing the number of private childcare establishments in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas between 2013-2017 and 2018-2022.
Author(s): Brandon Genetin, Kelsey L. Thomas (Conley)
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Bar chart comparing the number of private childcare establishments in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas between 2013-2017 and 2018-2022.
Author(s): Brandon Genetin, Kelsey L. Thomas (Conley)
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Beliefs of US Chiefs of Police about Substance Use Disorder, Fentanyl Exposure, Overdose Response, and Use of Discretion: Results from a National Survey
Examines police chief perceptions regarding substance use. Focuses on issues such as discretion when making arrests, overdose response, risks of fentanyl exposure, de-escalation practices, harmful drugs in their communities, and buprenorphine obtained via illicit means. Analyzes survey data from 276 police chiefs regarding their knowledge and attitudes on addiction and policing, with breakdowns according to their region, urbanicity, and experience.
Author(s): Amelia Bailey, Barbara Andraka-Christou, Saba Rouhani, et al.
Citation: Health & Justice, 13, 13
Date: 03/2025
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Examines police chief perceptions regarding substance use. Focuses on issues such as discretion when making arrests, overdose response, risks of fentanyl exposure, de-escalation practices, harmful drugs in their communities, and buprenorphine obtained via illicit means. Analyzes survey data from 276 police chiefs regarding their knowledge and attitudes on addiction and policing, with breakdowns according to their region, urbanicity, and experience.
Author(s): Amelia Bailey, Barbara Andraka-Christou, Saba Rouhani, et al.
Citation: Health & Justice, 13, 13
Date: 03/2025
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Lung Cancer Disparities in Rural, Persistent Poverty Counties: A Secondary Data Analysis
Examines lung cancer incidence and mortality according to county-level smoking rates, rurality, and poverty. Analyzes county types, such as urban and non-persistent poverty, urban and persistent poverty, rural and non-persistent poverty, and rural and persistent poverty as correlated with lung cancer disparities.
Author(s): Veronica Bernacchi, Kelly Hirko, Eric Adjei Boakye, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 25, 878
Date: 03/2025
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Examines lung cancer incidence and mortality according to county-level smoking rates, rurality, and poverty. Analyzes county types, such as urban and non-persistent poverty, urban and persistent poverty, rural and non-persistent poverty, and rural and persistent poverty as correlated with lung cancer disparities.
Author(s): Veronica Bernacchi, Kelly Hirko, Eric Adjei Boakye, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 25, 878
Date: 03/2025
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