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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Traffic Safety Facts, 2024: Truck Crash Facts
Provide statistics on crashes involving trucks in North Dakota from 2017 through 2024. Includes data on cause of crash, manner of collision, location of collision, injuries and fatalities, and if the crash happened on a rural versus urban road.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
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Trends in Influenza- and Pneumonia-Related Mortality in Lung Cancer Patients from 1999 to 2022: A Retrospective CDC WONDER Analysis
Examines demographic factors associated with increased influenza- and pneumonia-related mortality in lung cancer patients, utilizing 1999-2022 CDC WONDER data. Includes data and discussion of rural-urban mortality disparities.
Author(s): Kate Woods, Mustafa Beidas, Vikram Murugan, et al.
Citation: Respiratory Research, 26, 267
Date: 09/2025
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Comparison of Care in Hospital Outpatient Departments and Independent Physician Offices: Updated Findings for 2019-2024
Examines differences in Medicare payments for services at an independent physician's office (IPO) or a hospital outpatient department (HOPD). Utilizes 2019-2024 data to analyze characteristics of Medicare patients seen in HOPDs and IPOs, including rural versus urban location.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Trends in Firearm Death among Middle and High-School Aged Rural and Urban Adolescents from 2001 to 2022
Examines changes over time in firearm mortality among middle and high school-aged adolescents in metropolitan and non-metropolitan settings, utilizing 2001-2022 CDC Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) data. Includes breakdowns of firearm-related homicides, suicides, and unintentional deaths by year, with comparisons to other leading non-firearm related causes of death.
Author(s): Elizabeth H. Weybright, Heather F. Terral, Kelsey M. Conrick, Patrick M. Carter, Ali Rowhani-Rahbar
Citation: Injury Epidemiology, 12, 53
Date: 09/2025
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Comparing Utilization of Home Health Care Between Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries by Rural-Urban Status
Policy report describing differences in utilization of home health care between beneficiaries enrolled in Traditional Medicare (TM) and Medicare Advantage (MA), and by rural or urban status. Examines differences in use of home health overall, provision of specific services, including physical and occupational therapy, and receipt of care from home health agencies by enrollment in TM and MA. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban, large rural, small rural, and isolated rural areas.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Metrics of Urbanicity and Rurality in US-Based Epidemiologic Studies of Ambient Temperature and Health: A Scoping Review
Analyzes 2010-2025 epidemiologic studies in the U.S. focused on ambient temperature, population health, and rural versus urban metrics. Discusses the importance of urban and rural classification to assess environmental impacts such as ambient temperature on health.
Author(s): Nicholaus P. Johnson, Alexandra Del Favero-Campbell, Amruta Nori-Sarma, et al.
Citation: Current Environmental Health Reports, 12(1), 30
Date: 08/2025
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A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Opioid Prescriptions in Indiana from 2015 to 2019
Analyzes rural versus urban disparities in opioid prescriptions in Indiana. Utilizes 2015-2019 Medicaid claims data to examine 107,574 Medicaid enrollees who received opioid prescriptions, with data breakdowns according to patient demographics, ZIP code location, and rural or urban area.
Author(s): Paula A. Jaimes-Buitron, Nicole Adams, Nan Kong, Carolina Vivas-Valencia
Citation: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 20, 30
Date: 08/2025
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Fill Patterns of Glucose-Lowering Drugs with Cardiovascular and Kidney Benefits in the Rural and Urban United States, 2012–2021
Analyzes fill rates for GLP1RA and SGLT2i glucose-lowering drugs among people with type 2 diabetes by level of rurality and other demographics, utilizing 2012-2021 OptumLabs Data Warehouse claims data. Discusses how geographic differences in prescribing may influence cardiovascular and kidney disease outcomes among people with type 2 diabetes.
Author(s): Kyle Steiger, Kavya Sindhu Swarna, Jeph Herrin, Rozalina G. McCoy
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 41, 126-133
Date: 08/2025
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Income, Healthy Food Availability, and Consumption Mediate Rural–Urban Health Disparities
Discusses rural versus urban health disparities and how healthy food availability and consumption mediate disparities. Utilizes national and state-level survey data from Oregon residents regarding their self-reported income, perceived fruit and vegetable (FV) availability, FV consumption, and health status, analyzing their associated mediating effect on rural health disparities.
Author(s): Benjamin J Smith, A Janet Tomiyama, Deborah H John, Bryan Mantell, Elliot T Berkman
Citation: International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 32(6), 939-952
Date: 08/2025
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Predictors of Adenotonsillectomy for Publicly Insured Children With Sleep-Disordered Breathing
Analyzes associations between demographic factors and adenotonsillectomy rates among Medicaid-insured children in South Carolina. Provides data on adenotonsillectomy, receipt of polysomnography, and race, ethnicity, and rurality.
Author(s): Phayvanh P. Pecha, Pamela L. Ferguson, Marvella E. Ford, Paul J. Nietert
Citation: The Laryngoscope, 136(2), 1012-1019
Date: 08/2025
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