Rural Health Disparities – Resources

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
Type: Document
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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Healthy People 2020 Progress for Leading Causes of Death in Rural and Urban America: A Chartbook
Provides a description of progress toward Health People 2020 benchmarks among racial and ethnic groups, men and women, and residents of the 4 United States census regions. Features statistics including deaths from heart disease, cancer, COPD, unintentional injury, stroke, diabetes, and suicide from 2007-2017, with breakdowns by 6 levels of population density.
Author(s): Timothy H. Callaghan, Alva O. Ferdinand, Marvellous Akinlotan, et al.
Date: 03/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
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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
Type: Document
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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
Type: Document
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Clinical Advisor
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Rural Disparities in Health and Healthcare by Race and Ethnicity
Webinar recording discusses the role race and ethnicity play in rural health disparities. Explores measures pertaining to disparities in health and wellness, preventative screenings, and healthcare access for American Indian, Black, Hispanic, White, and Asian populations in rural areas. Transcript available below description.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Webinar Transcript
Date: 01/2020
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: Rural Health Research Gateway, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Examining Rural Cancer Prevention and Control Efforts from the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
Webinar discussing cancer prevalence and prevention in rural areas. Highlights policy recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services on rural cancer prevention efforts.
Additional links: PowerPoint Handout, Transcript
Date: 01/2020
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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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
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Factors Associated with Lung Cancer Screening in Urban vs. Rural Individuals at Risk for Lung Cancer
Presentation slides on a study investigating rural/urban differences in Low-Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT) cancer screening. Study participants included current and former smokers ages 55-80 with a smoking history of 30 or more years.
Author(s): Anja Zgodic, Gabriel Benavidez, Whitney Zahnd, Jan Eberth
Date: 2020
Type: Presentation Slides
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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