Rural Health Disparities – Resources

The Rural Mortality Penalty in U.S. Hospital Patients with COVID-19
Examines whether rural-urban disparities in patient condition at hospital admission affect all-cause mortality among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 from March 2020 to February 2023, utilizing Epic Cosmos data of 1,119,199 patients. Provides data on rural versus urban differences in patient condition at admission, overall health, vaccination status, age, and other demographics. Discusses factors associated with reduced access to care in rural areas.
Author(s): Jeffrey A. Thompson, Dinesh Pal Mudaranthakam, Lynn Chollet-Hinton
Citation: Population Health Metrics, 22, 20
Date: 08/2024
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Community-Level Factors and their Associations with Changing Opioid Overdose Fatality Rates in Kentucky, 2019–2021
Identifies associations between community-level factors and opioid overdose fatality rates in Appalachian and non-Appalachian Kentucky counties, and examines how these associations have changed from 2019 to 2021. Discusses societal changes that occurred due to COVID-19, including social isolation, and which may be linked to an increase in overdose deaths. Features statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan, adjacent-to-metropolitan, and nonmetropolitan areas.
Author(s): Shawn R. Nigam, Philip M. Westgate, Svetla Slavova, Rachel Vickers-Smith, Katherine L. Thompson
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 6(1), 90-115
Date: 07/2024
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Provision of Stroke Care Services by Community Disadvantage Status in the US, 2009-2022
Results of a study of 5,055 hospitals, examining the association of community socioeconomic disadvantage with likelihood of nearby hospitals adopting stroke center certification from 2009-2022. Features statistics including hospital characteristics during the study period, with breakdown by rural location.
Author(s): Renee Y. Hsia, Nandita Sarkar, Yu-Chu Shen
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(7), e2421010
Date: 07/2024
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Traffic Safety Facts, 2022 Data: Rural/Urban Traffic Fatalities
Reports 2022 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data describing fatal motor vehicle crashes. Provides rural versus urban statistics for fatal motor vehicle crashes by light condition, roadway departure and intersection, age group, speeding, alcohol use, seat belt use, and rollover crashes. Includes statistics on ratio of rural to urban fatality rates per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, by state, as of 2022.
Date: 07/2024
Sponsoring organization: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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Patterns and Trends in Melanoma Mortality in the United States, 1999–2020
Analyzes melanoma mortality utilizing 1999-2020 data from Centers for Disease Control Wide Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC WONDER). Provides mortality trends broken down by sex, race/ethnicity, age, state, and rural, suburban, or urban location.
Author(s): Alexander J. Didier, Swamroop V. Nandwani, Dean Watkins, et al.
Citation: BMC Cancer, 24, 790
Date: 07/2024
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Talking about Health Disparities in Rural Contexts
Examines the concepts of health equity and health disparities in rural public health contexts. Discusses communication strategies to increase understanding and support for efforts to address health inequities in rural areas.
Author(s): Theresa L. Miller, Julie Sweetland, Luis Hestres, et al.
Date: 06/2024
Sponsoring organizations: FrameWorks Institute, National Network of Public Health Institutes
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Excess Deaths Associated With COVID-19 by Rurality and Demographic Factors in the United States
Details a study on the patterns of excess death associated with COVID-19 by rural and urban location and other demographic factors using CDC WONDER data from March 2020 to February 2023. Breaks down percent of excess deaths by large central metro, large fringe metro, medium metro, small metro, micropolitan, and noncore counties.
Author(s): Katherine A. Ahrens, Lauren M. Rossen, Carly Milkowski, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(3), 491-499
Date: 06/2024
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Neighborhood Deprivation and Breast Cancer Mortality Among Black and White Women
Compares the association of breast cancer mortality with neighborhood deprivation among Black and White women in Georgia who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2010 and 2017. Measures deprivation via the Neighborhood Deprivation Index (NDI), utilizing 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) data. Provides additional data breakdowns by level of rurality, neighborhood racial composition, and neighborhood residential mobility.
Author(s): Lauren E. Barber, Maret L. Maliniak, Leah Moubadder, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(6), e2416499
Date: 06/2024
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Rural Health Disparities in Skin Cancer Amplified Among Skin of Color
Analyzes how geography and the social determinants of health impact skin cancer disparities. Analyzes skin cancer history in rural versus urban populations, with data further broken down by sex, race, health plan, healthcare provider access, age, and income.
Author(s): Rachel R. Lin, Juwon Lee, Andrea D. Maderal, Scott A. Elman
Citation: Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 23(6), 480-484
Date: 06/2024
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Rural and Urban Differences in Disparities in Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sexual Minority Populations
Examines substance use (SU), substance use disorders (SUD), and SUD treatment in heterosexual and sexual minority populations. Analyzes 2015 to 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data with information broken down by demographics, SU, and large metro, small metro, or nonmetro location.
Author(s): Christina Dyar, Ethan Morgan
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(3), 542-556
Date: 06/2024
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