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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Statistics and data

Defining Rural America: The Consequences of How We Count
Discusses several federal definitions of rural and the implications of using different definitions. Compares how U.S. Census Bureau and Office Management and Budget (OMB) characterize rural America. Offers principles on how to choose which definition to use to describe rural areas.
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: Center on Rural Innovation
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Lack of Health Insurance Coverage Among Employed Individuals Increased As the COVID-19 Pandemic Intensified
Line chart showing the percent of workers who lacked health insurance from April 23, 2020 through December 21, 2020, with data for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan self-employed individuals and those otherwise employed.
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Fighting Fentanyl: The Federal Response to a Growing Crisis
Presents the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) hearing on the government's response to the fentanyl crisis. Includes testimonies from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the Office of National Drug Control Policy regarding current efforts to address the expanding use of fentanyl across the U.S.
Additional links: Carole Johnson Testimony, Christopher Jones Testimony, Kemp Chester Testimony, Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon Testimony
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities: Federal Programs Provide Support for Preventing Falls, but Program Reach is Limited
Provides an overview of nine federal programs designed to provide evidence-based falls prevention, home assessments, or home modifications for older adults and adults with disabilities. Explores what federal agencies know about how these programs affect participants' health and to what extent agencies coordinate their efforts and provide consumer information. Includes data on the estimated percentage of falls among adults with disabilities by demographic characteristics and identifies programs serving rural communities.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Types of Rural and Urban Hospitals and Counties Where They Are Located
Offers a snapshot of the types of rural and urban hospitals and the counties where they are located. Presents data on the number and percent of acute care hospitals and average daily census by hospital type, special payment designation, and county size. Includes descriptions of Medicare special payment designations for hospitals.
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Survey of Pennsylvania Emergency Medical Services Agencies
Results of a December 2021 survey of 389 directors of urban, rural, and mixed Pennsylvania emergency medical services agencies. Features statistics on topics including staffing, finances, changes in providers, recruitment and retention, and strategic planning, with breakdowns by rural and urban/mixed classifications.
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Increased Rates of Death from Unintentional Injury among Non-Hispanic White, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Non-Metropolitan Communities
Examines the rate of fatal and nonfatal injuries in non-metropolitan and metropolitan areas, and the association with race/ethnicity. Uses information from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey public use datafile for 2018. Features statistics including estimated rate of nonfatal unintentional injuries among people seeking treatment at hospitals, deaths from unintentional injuries, and age-adjusted death rates for all causes of unintentional injury from 2014-2018, with breakdowns by metropolitan and non-metropolitan location.
Author(s): Lindsey R. Hammerslag, Jeffery Talbert, Tyrone F. Borders
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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Urban–Rural Differences in Health Care Utilization and COVID-19 Outcomes in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
Examines associations of COVID-19 patients with type 2 diabetes by hospitalization outcomes and community type. Utilizes electronic health records (EHRs) from a Pennsylvania health system for COVID-19 outcomes such as death, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, ventilation, thromboembolism, and myocardial damage. Analyzes EHR data across township, borough, and city census tracts to understand relationships among rurality, socioeconomic deprivation, and COVID-19 outcomes.
Author(s): Annemarie G. Hirsch, Cara M. Nordberg, Karen Bandeen-Roche, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 19
Date: 07/2022
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How Increased Funding Can Advance the Mission of the Indian Health Service to Improve Health Outcomes for American Indians and Alaska Natives
Provides an overview of health and healthcare disparities experienced by American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations. Describes the role of the federal government in financing and providing healthcare services to these populations. Discusses how enhanced funding could help further the Indian Health Service's mission to ensure that tribal communities have access to high-quality healthcare services.
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Urban–Rural Differences in Drug Overdose Death Rates, 2020
Examines 2020 drug overdose deaths by sex and type of drug, among other factors, with data broken down by rural versus urban county status. Includes a U.S. map that depicts if overall urban or rural counties in a state have a higher rate of age-adjusted overdose death.
Author(s): Merianne Rose Spencer, Matthew F. Garnett, Arialdi M. Miniño
Date: 07/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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