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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Statistics and data

Quantifying Rural Disparity in Healthcare Utilization in the United States: Analysis of a Large Midwestern Healthcare System
Analyzes patient utilization of rural versus urban outpatient clinics. Explores electronic health record data from 474,674 adult patients from June 2018 to March 2019 across variables such as age, sex, race, ethnicity, smoking status, and health status. Includes statistics and discussion of clinic utilization in relation to rural healthcare disparities.
Author(s): Akua Nuako, Jingxia Liu, Giang Pham, et al.
Citation: PLoS ONE, 17(2)
Date: 02/2022
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Analysis of Vaccination Rates and New COVID-19 Infections by US County, July-August 2021
Research letter examining COVID-19 infection and vaccination rates during the third wave of the pandemic in July-August 2021. Offers county-level data maps and highlights differences in rural and urban vaccination rates and impacts of the wave on counties with lower vaccination rates.
Author(s): Diego F. Cuadros, DeWolfe Miller, Susanne Awad, Philip Coule, Neil J. MacKinnon
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 5(2), e2147915
Date: 02/2022
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Social Determinants of Mortality of COVID-19 and Opioid Overdose in American Rural and Urban Counties
Highlights a study on the social determinants of health that correlate with high COVID-19 and opioid overdose mortality in rural and urban counties. Breaks down county data by median income, unemployment, and healthcare workforce, among other factors.
Author(s): Yuhui Zhu, Zhe Fei, Larissa J. Mooney, et al.
Citation: Journal of Addiction Medicine, 16(1), e52-e55
Date: 02/2022
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Outpatient Telehealth Use Soared Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic but Has since Receded
Brief examining outpatient telehealth visits from March 2019 to August 2021 based on a data set that includes over 126 million patients from 889 hospitals and 19,320 clinics nationwide. Covers changes in telehealth use during the pandemic, telehealth use by age group and sex, rural and urban rates of telehealth use, and telehealth use for management of chronic conditions. Discusses impacts on healthcare access, cost, quality, and outcomes, as well as policy implications.
Author(s): Justin Lo, Matthew Rae, Krutika Ann, Cynthia Cox
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organizations: KFF, Peterson Center on Healthcare
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Estimating Mortality from Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Among Medicare Beneficiaries with Pneumoconiosis Using Binary Regressions for Spatially Sparse Data
Results of a study to estimate the excess risk associated with mortality from various pneumoconioses among Medicare beneficiaries and to assess how the combined individual and county‐level factors contribute to the increased mortality risk of coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Uses data from 2011-2014 and features statistics with breakdowns by rural and non-rural locations.
Author(s): Rajib Paul, Oluwaseun Adeyemi, Ahmed A. Arif
Citation: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2022, 1-6
Date: 02/2022
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Demographics of High-Income Households In Rural Illinois, 2021
Explores profiles and distribution of income in rural Illinois among households in top income brackets. Provides demographic information on family type/size, age, race, and education. Discusses implications for rural communities.
Author(s): Adee Athiyaman, Chris Merrett
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs
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Chartis Center for Rural Health Research & Resources for the 2022 National Rural Health Association's Rural Health Policy Institute Conference
Offers research and analysis of the stability of the rural healthcare safety net. Includes Pandemic Increases Pressure on Rural Hospitals & Communities: Vulnerability, Health Inequity and Staffing Crisis Amplified in Pandemic's Third Year and presentation slides on this report from the 2022 National Rural Health Association Policy Institute. Provides links to national and state data tables showing the financial impact of federal policies on rural hospitals.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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Pandemic Increases Pressure on Rural Hospitals & Communities: Vulnerability, Health Inequity and Staffing Crisis Amplified in Pandemic's Third Year
Examines the stability of the rural healthcare safety net. Discusses disparities between rural and urban communities and communities with hospitals vulnerable to closure. Describes the benefits of COVID-19 relief funding on rural hospitals and how scheduled reimbursement cuts and staffing shortages could impact hospitals' financial stability. Also discusses how staffing shortages impact access to obstetrics and chemotherapy care in rural areas.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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The Problem Of The Color Line: Spatial Access To Hospital Services For Minoritized Racial And Ethnic Groups
Study examining healthcare access by race and geography, covering distances to hospital services for minoritized ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZTCAs). Discusses factors that lead to disparities in access for rural minority communities, including policy, rural hospital closures, and safety-net program issues.
Additional links: Story Map: The Problem Of The Color Line
Author(s): Jan M. Eberth, Peiyin Hung, Gabriel A. Benavidez, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 41(2), 237-246
Date: 02/2022
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Persistently Poor Rural Counties Experienced Lower Employment Impacts From the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic but Have Higher Cumulative COVID-19 Case Rates
Examines COVID-19 case rates among persistently poor rural counties in relation to economic impacts from the pandemic. Offers comparative data on job losses and vaccination rates for metro and nonmetro counties with persistent poverty and non-persistent poverty based on USDA Economic Research Service data and U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Author(s): Elizabeth A. Dobis, Thomas Krumel, Austin Sanders
Citation: Amber Waves
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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