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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural-urban differences

Financial Burden of Medical Care Among Veterans Aged 25–64, by Health Insurance Coverage: United States, 2019–2021
Examines financial burden for medical care among veterans aged 25–64 for those with VA health care alone and combined with different types of health insurance coverage. Table 1 includes data on VA health care and health insurance coverage for those in metropolitan and nonmetro areas.
Author(s): Robin A. Cohen, Peter Boersma
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Financial Risk Acceptance among Rural Health Care Providers Participating in the Quality Payment Program
Summarizes nonmetropolitan and metropolitan providers' participation in different Quality Payment Program tracks and subdivisions, and evaluates provider and patient-panel characteristics associated with financial risk acceptance. Features statistics on risk acceptance with breakdowns by specialty type and metropolitan status, and patient panel characteristics by risk type.
Author(s): Xi Zhu, Mina Shrestha, Fred Ullrich, Keith Mueller
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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2022 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report: Chartbook on Patient Safety
Summarizes trends in healthcare quality and disparities for metro (urban) to noncore (rural) populations. Includes quality measures for patient safety, person-centered care, care coordination, effective treatment, healthy living, and affordability.
Author(s): Barbara Barton, Darryl Gray, Cecilia Hahn, et al.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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VA Health Care: Improved Data, Planning, and Communication Needed for Infrastructure Modernization and Realignment
Describes the Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recommendations to modernize and realign its infrastructure. Examines the data that the VA used to inform its recommendations, any plans that VA has to improve such data, and the extent of the VA's planning to modernize and realign its infrastructure. Discusses rural-specific recommendations and compares data on facility closure and service line change recommendations by rurality.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Crowded Housing and Housing Cost Burden by Disability, Race, Ethnicity, and Rural-Urban Location
Examine rates of crowded housing and housing cost burden, using data from the 2015-2019 American Community Survey. Features statistics on housing characteristics, with breakdowns by race or ethnicity and disability status, and rural or urban location.
Author(s): Alexis Swendener, Katie Rydberg, Mariana Tuttle, Hawking Yam, Carrie Henning-Smith
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Dental Care Use in the Midwest: Metro vs. Nonmetro
Examines dental care use in metro and nonmetro populations of the Midwest. Discusses reasons for seeking dental care and breaks down usage according to gender, race, and geography.
Author(s): Adee Athiyaman
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs
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Access to Health Services Across Rural and Urban Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Group Areas
Summarizes results from a series of reports documenting disparities in access to health services nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition. Presents data on the distance to care from the population center of rural and urban ZCTAs to the nearest provider. Covers first line, higher acuity, and home-based services.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Your Neighborhood Matters: An Ecological Social Determinant Study of the Relationship Between Residential Racial Segregation And the Risk of Firearm Fatalities
Examines the impact of county-level social determinants of health (SDOH) on firearm fatalities. Analyzes 802 firearm fatalities that occurred in Wisconsin counties in 2019 and their relationship to SDOH, such as residential racial segregation, income inequality, community resilience, and rural versus urban classification. Includes county-level maps depicting geographic distribution of racial segregation and firearm fatalities per 100,000 people.
Author(s): Abdul R. Shour, Ronald Anguzu, Yuhong Zhou, et al.
Citation: Injury Epidemiology, 10, 14
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
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Assessing Geographic Variability in Key Indicators of Air Quality: A Rural vs. Urban Comparison of Pollution and Socio-Economic Factors
Results of a study to examine rates of air pollution between rural and urban census tracts, using data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Air Quality System web portal for the years 2000-2020. Features statistics including mean concentrations of fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) and ozone in rural and urban census tracts, and maps showing concentrations of PM2.5 for census tracts by EPA region.
Author(s): Daniel Kilpatrick, Jeremy Cothran, Stella Self, et al.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Use of Telemedicine among Office-Based Physicians, 2021
Details the usage of telemedicine by physicians who are office-based, self-employed or employed by a health system, including their specialty, participation in payment models, satisfaction with telemedicine, and continued use post-pandemic. Provides data on rural and urban physician use of telemedicine tools and platforms integrated with electronic health records (EHR).
Author(s): Yuriy Pylypchuk, Wesley Barker
Citation: ONC Data Brief, 65
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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