Rural Health Disparities – Resources

Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, and Choice
Examines factors that influence maternal and newborn care in the United States, including social determinants such as geographic variability in access to birth settings. Explores challenges faced by women in rural and underserved areas. Includes statistics on infant mortality rates in 2014 with breakdowns by rural or urban locations, and county-level maps showing access to providers and hospitals offering obstetric services.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Children, Youth, and Families
Date: 2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Rural–Urban Disparities in Pregnancy Intentions, Births, and Abortions Among US Adolescent and Young Women, 1995–2017
Study examining disparities in intendedness and resolution of first pregnancies among rural and urban adolescent and young women using 2002-2017 data from the National Survey of Family Growth. Breaks down data by race/ethnicity, by urban, rural, and suburban residence, and by state. Discusses public health implications of the findings.
Author(s): April Sutton, Daniel T. Lichter, Sharon Sassler
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 109(12), 1762-1769
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
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Divergent Trends in Life Expectancy Across the Rural-Urban Gradient and Association with Specific Racial Proportions in the Contiguous United States 2000-2005
Study estimating life expectancy at age 25 by rural and urban residence, race, and gender using county-level data from 2000 - 2005. Discusses geographic determinants of disparities in life expectancy in the contiguous U.S., comparing rurality and the proportion of specific race populations to life expectancy. Features color-coded maps of the contiguous U.S. that represents life expectancy at age 25 for White, Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian males and females.
Author(s): Yun Jian, Lucas Neas, Lynne C. Messer, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Public Health, 64(9), 1367-1374
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
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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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