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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

2023 North Carolina Rural Health Snapshot
Presents data on rural North Carolina demographics, health information, and healthcare infrastructure. Offers statistics on issues including food access, income, healthcare coverage, maternal health, behavioral health, housing, internet access, and more.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation, North Carolina Rural Health Association
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Virginia's Optometrist Workforce: 2023
An overview of the optometrist workforce in Virginia based on data from the 2023 Optometrist Workforce Survey. Features statistics including the number of optometrists in rural Virginia and how many grew up in rural areas.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Virginia Department of Health Professions
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Health-Related Quality of Life: Unhealthy Days, A Data Short Take
Reports on the number of days Minnesotans felt mentally or physically unhealthy from 2013 through 2021. Includes breakdowns of data by age, education, income, insurance type, race/ethnicity, citizenship, and RUCA region, which is further categorized by urban area, large rural city, small rural town, or isolated rural town.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Health
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Rural and Urban Differences in Factors Associated with Inpatient Hospital Stays for Substance Use Disorder
Provides information on inpatient hospital stays for patients with substance use disorder (SUD) by rural and urban location. Utilizes 2018 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) data to examine 81,857 inpatient hospital stays, with rural versus urban data further broken down by age, sex, race/ethnicity, type of SUD diagnosis, secondary conditions and comorbidities, admission type and source, Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) status, payer type, hospital characteristics, and more.
Author(s): Craig Holden, Curt Mueller, Shena Popat, Alana Knudson
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Equity Research Center
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Pesticide Exposure Among Latinx Children in Rural Farmworker and Urban Non-Farmworker Communities: Associations With Locality and Season
Presents a study on pesticide exposure of Latinx children. Compares exposure rates of rural children from farmworker families and urban children from non-farmworker families. Breaks down data by gender, family size, and types of pesticide detected, among other measures.
Author(s): Thomas A. Arcury, Haiying Chen, Sara A. Quandt, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(9), 5647
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
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Factors Associated with Lengths-of-Stay for Inpatients with Substance Use Disorders
Policy brief identifying factors associated with inpatient length-of-stay (LOS) for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) and exploring whether there are systematic differences in LOS for rural and urban residents. Includes statistics on characteristics of stays for a primary SUD diagnosis in Kentucky, North Carolina, Vermont, and Washington in 2018, with breakdowns by Mental Health Professional Shortage Area and rural or urban location, and selected factors on LOS for an SUD diagnosis, with breakdowns by mental diagnoses, chronic conditions, and socio-demographic measures.
Author(s): Curt Mueller, Craig Holden, Shena Popat, Alana Knudson
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Equity Research Center
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More than One in Five Adults with Limited Public Transit Access Forgo Health Care Because of Transportation Barriers
Provides information on adults who have foregone healthcare due to lack of transportation. Analyzes June 2022 data from the Urban Institute's Health Reform Monitoring Survey (HRMS) on healthcare access, missed appointments, and access to vehicles, with data broken down by race/ethnicity, disability status, health insurance coverage, and rural versus urban residence.
Author(s): Laura Barrie Smith, Michael Karpman, Dulce Gonzalez, Sarah Morriss
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Urban Institute
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The National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics (NAFC) Data Report 2023
Reports on 2022 activities of clinics and pharmacies that are members of the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics (NAFC). Includes information on patient demand and demographics, workforce, services offered, financial data, social determinants of health (SDOH) screenings, and more. Provides rural-specific data on patient usage, type and location of facilities, and government-funded special groups.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: The National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics
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Patients of Free & Charitable Clinics & Pharmacies: 2023
An infographic that provides an overview on the patients who utilize The National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC) member clinics and pharmacies in the U.S. Includes data on patient demographics, illness/disease, and location by rural, urban, or suburban.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: The National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics
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A Look at U.S. Free & Charitable Clinics & Pharmacies: 2023
An infographic that provides an overview on healthcare organization type, services provided by, and location of The National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC) member clinics and pharmacies by rural, urban, or suburban.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: The National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics
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