Rural Health Disparities – Resources

Declines In Pediatric Mortality Fall Short For Rural US Children
Examines pediatric mortality rates from 1999-2017 and related factors of race/ethnicity and rurality. Provides data according to age, race/ethnicity, cause-specific mortality, and rural versus urban county.
Author(s): Janice Probst, Whitney Zahnd, Charity Breneman
Citation: Health Affairs, 38, 12
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
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Differences in Preventive Care Among Rural Residents by Race and Ethnicity
Explores race and ethnicity as a factor in rural preventive care delivery. Breaks down vaccination rates and cancer screening rates by race/ethnicity and discusses potential implications of the findings.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Marizen R. Ramirez, Ashley Hernandez, Rachel Hardeman, Katy Kozhimannil
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Lung Cancer Incidence in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Counties — United States, 2007–2016
Reports on lung cancer incidence rates in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties, with data by sex and by age at diagnosis. Includes data for 2007 and 2016, as well as the change in rate from 2007 to 2016. Discusses strategies to reduce exposure to lung cancer risk factors and how those strategies might be targeted to decrease disparities.
Author(s): Mary Elizabeth O'Neil, S. Jane Henley, Elizabeth A. Rohan, Taylor D. Ellington, M. Shayne Gallaway
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 68(44), 993-998
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Indian Health Disparities
Fact sheet providing statistics on American Indian and Alaska Native health disparities and mortality disparities.
Date: 10/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Indian Health Service
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Risk Factors and Potentially Preventable Deaths in Rural Communities
Compares rates of potentially avoidable deaths in rural and urban communities and shows how these deaths vary by census region. Features statistics on modifiable risk factors, such as smoking, excessive alcohol use, and obesity, and percent of potentially preventable deaths attributable to specific health conditions, with breakdowns by rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Mark Holmes, Kristie W. Thompson
Date: 10/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Reported Importance and Access to Health Care Providers Who Understand or Share Cultural Characteristics With Their Patients Among Adults, by Race and Ethnicity
Examines the importance and frequency of seeing culturally competent health care providers among U.S. adults, with data by race and ethnicity. Includes metropolitan and nonmetropolitan data for Hispanic, non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and other non-Hispanic adults.
Author(s): Emily P. Terlizzi, Eric M. Connor, Carla E. Zelaya, et al.
Date: 10/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Watered Down Justice
Report focuses on water quality standards, violations, and potential solutions, specifically for social and economic minority populations. Features county-level maps showing the intersection of various drinking water violations and length of violations with racial, ethnic, and language vulnerability.
Author(s): Kristi Pullen Fedinick, Steve Taylor, Michele Roberts
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Coming Clean, Environmental Justice Health Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council
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Have Healthy People 2020 Benchmarks for Leading Causes of Death Been Met in Rural and Urban Areas?
Presentation slides from an August 20, 2019 webinar, with analysis of death rates for 7 major causes of death, in light of Healthy People 2020 benchmarks. Features mortality statistics from 2007-2017 for diabetes, heart disease, suicide, cancer, stroke, unintentional injury, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with breakdowns by gender, race, and region, with 6 levels of population density.
Author(s): Alva O. Ferdinand, Timothy Callaghan, Marvellous Akinlotan, Kristie Primm
Date: 08/2019
Type: Presentation Slides
Sponsoring organizations: Southwest Rural Health Research Center, Texas A&M Health Science Center
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Selection Biases in Technology-based Intervention Research: Patients' Technology Use Relates to Both Demographic and Health-related Inequities
Details a study on selection bias in health research, specifically the patient characteristics of people with implantable cardioverter defibrillators who were not included in an intervention on the basis of their inability to access the internet or a computer. Looks at patient demographics, such as age, race, education, and rural status, among other measures.
Author(s): Tammy Toscos, Michelle Drouin, Jessica Pater, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 26(8-9), 835–839
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
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Advancing Health Equity and Access Using Telemedicine: A Geospatial Assessment
Highlights a study on the effectiveness of a virtual urgent care (VUC) program in expanding healthcare access and addressing health equity in rural populations in North Carolina. Compares rural versus urban areas and breaks down data by rates of poverty, Medicare and Medicaid enrollment, and broadband access, among other measures.
Author(s): Saif Khairat, Timothy Haithcoat, Songzi Liu, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 26(8-9), 796–805
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
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