Rural Health Disparities – Resources

Community Susceptibility and Resiliency to COVID‐19 Across the Rural‐Urban Continuum in the United States
Presents a county-level susceptibility scale for COVID-19. Highlights 7 susceptibility factors related to health and socioeconomic resiliency and discusses the different vulnerabilities of rural and urban communities.
Additional links: COVID-19 Susceptibility Map
Author(s): David J. Peters
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 36(3), 446-456
Date: 06/2020
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Rural-Urban Residence and Mortality among Three Cohorts of U.S. Adults
Reports on a study to address gaps in what is known of the rural-urban mortality disparity by analyzing time-to-event birth cohorts using data from the 1997-2009 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) linking deaths through December 2011. Results of this study may identify potential policy and practice interventions to reduce the disparity in rural-urban mortality.
Author(s): Erika C. Ziller, Jennifer D. Lenardson, Katherine Ahrens M.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Prevalence of Self-Reported Hypertension and Antihypertensive Medication Use by County and Rural-Urban Classification — United States, 2017
Examines self-reported prevalence of diagnosed hypertension and antihypertensive medication use. Includes data for metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore (rural) areas. Also discusses geographic trends at the county level, with maps showing county-level hypertension prevalence and medication use. Highlights higher prevalence of hypertension in the Southeast, Appalachia, and the Great Plains.
Author(s): Claudine M. Samanic, Kamil E. Barbour, Yong Liu, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 69(18), 533-539
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Increase in Suicide Mortality in the United States, 1999–2018
Reports on changes in suicide rates in the U.S. from 1999 through 2018. Includes 2018 age-adjusted suicide rates for men and women by county of residence for urban and rural counties.
Author(s): Holly Hedegaard, Sally C. Curtin, Margaret Warner
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Second Report to Congress: Social Risk Factors and Performance in Medicare's Value-Based Purchasing Programs
Analyzes the effect of individuals' social risk factors on quality measures, resource utilization, and other Medicare program measures using Medicare and non-Medicare data sources. Describes how Medicare value-based purchasing (VBP) programs impact providers who serve socially at-risk beneficiaries. Categorizes rurality as a social risk factor. Explores emerging trends among providers addressing social risk factors through cooperation with social services and community-based organizations. Offers policy recommendations for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to account for social risk factors in VBP programs and achieve better outcomes for those with social risk factors. Second of two reports required by the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014. See the first report.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 03/2020
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Maternal Mortality: Trends in Pregnancy-Related Deaths and Federal Efforts to Reduce Them
Examines trends in pregnancy-related deaths between 2007 and 2016, Analyzes data by cause of death, racial and ethnic groups, and age. Appendix III lists ongoing Department of Health and Human Services funding opportunities to address maternal mortality, including the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) Program. Appendix V provides an overview of efforts to reduce maternal mortality in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, and Texas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 03/2020
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Urban–Rural Infant Mortality Disparities by Race and Ethnicity and Cause of Death
Analyzes data on infant mortality across county-classifications and broken down by race/ethnicity and large metro, medium/small metro, and nonmetropolitan areas. Notes differences regarding cause of death by race/ethnicity, including sudden unexpected infant death, congenital anomalies, and preterm-related.
Author(s): Lindsay S. Womack, Lauren R. Rossen, Ashley H. Hirai
Citation: American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 58(2), 254-260
Date: 02/2020
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A Prospective Cohort Analysis of Gut Microbial Co-metabolism in Alaska Native and Rural African People at High and Low Risk of Colorectal Cancer
Presents a study examining the role of diet and gut microbiota in rates of colorectal cancer. Compares the diets of Alaska Natives, who have the highest rates of colorectal cancer in the world, with the diets of rural Africans, who have some of the lowest.
Author(s): Soeren Ocvirk, Annette S Wilson, Joram M Posma, et al.
Citation: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 111(2), 406-419
Date: 02/2020
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Health Disparities in Rural America: Current Challenges and Future Solutions
Describes health risks experienced by rural people and the problems they face in accessing healthcare in shortage areas, and offers possible solutions. Includes a map showing Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas by county, and a list of states allowing full practice authority for nurse practitioners as of 2019.
Author(s): Theresa Capriotti, Tiffany Pearson, Lillian Dufour
Date: 02/2020
Sponsoring organization: Clinical Advisor
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QuickStats: Infant Mortality Rates For Metro and Nonmetro Counties, by Race and Hispanic Origin — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2017
Bar chart showing metropolitan and nonmetro infant mortality rates for infants of non-Hispanic White mothers, non-Hispanic Black mothers, and Hispanic mothers.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 69(3), 95
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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