Rural Health Disparities – Resources

Using Wastewater to Overcome Health Disparities among Rural Residents
Highlights health disparities in rural America and the potential for wastewater surveillance as a tool to address disparities. Discusses the use of wastewater surveillance during COVID-19 and in under-resourced locations in South Africa.
Author(s): Rochelle H. Holm, Gina Pocock, Marie A. Severson, et al.
Citation: Geoforum, 144, 103816
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Sexual Minorities Are Not a Homogeneous Population: Health Disparity Differences Based on Residence in Rural Versus Urban Settings
Evaluated 210,392 sexual minorities (SMs) between 2015 and 2019 to determine whether rural SMs are at increased risk for chronic disease. Includes discussion of insurance status, gender, rural and urban comparisons, and multiple chronic illnesses.
Author(s): Ethan Morgan, Kathryn Lancaster, Yootapichai Phosri, Janelle Ricks, Christina Dyar
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 23(3), 8052
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Disparities in Cancer Mortality Patterns: A Comprehensive Examination of U.S. Rural and Urban Adults, 1999–2020
Analyzes cancer mortality rates over a 20-year period to observe rural versus urban disparities. Utilizes National Center for Health Statistics data with rural versus urban data breakdowns by type of cancer, race/ethnicity, and sex.
Author(s): Itunu O. Sokale, Syed Ahsan Raza, Aaron P. Thrift
Citation: Cancer Medicine, 12(18), 18988-18998
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Working Towards Health Equity in the Rural Space
Podcast episode featuring a discussion with Terry Scoggin, CEO of Titus Regional Medical Center in northeast Texas, and Ben Anderson, Vice President of Rural Health and Hospitals for the Colorado Hospital Association, on how they are working to promote health equity in rural areas.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Traffic Safety Facts, 2021 Data: Rural/Urban Comparison of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities
Reports 2021 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data describing fatal motor vehicle crashes. Provides rural versus urban statistics for fatal motor vehicle crashes by light condition, age group, speeding, alcohol use, seat belt use, and rollover crashes.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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Where You Live Matters: Maternity Care Deserts and the Crisis of Access and Equity
Provides interactive state-by-state data on maternity care deserts in the U.S. Focuses on access, distance to maternity care, availability of family planning services, disparities in prenatal care, chronic health conditions and preterm birth, policy solutions, and more. Includes county-level maps of data as well as accompanying state summaries, infographics, and downloadable reports.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: March of Dimes
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Disparities in Melanoma Outcomes In Urban Versus Rural Settings: An Analysis from the Nebraska Cancer Registry 2001-2016
A research letter that analyzes health disparities related to melanoma outcomes in rural versus urban populations. Examines 9,688 individuals with melanoma between 2001 and 2016 utilizing the Nebraska Cancer Registry to observe the mortality rate of patients when considering rurality, race, sex, age, and stage/site of the cancer.
Author(s): Elizabeth M. Mata, Natalia Trinidad, Elliot Blue, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 89(2), 350-352
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Appalachian Diseases of Despair
Provides information on Appalachian mortality disparities due to overdose, suicide, and alcoholic liver disease/cirrhosis among people ages 15-64. Utilizes data from the 2021 Multiple Cause of Death database broken down by Appalachian state, region, gender, and metropolitan or nonmetropolitan status.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Appalachian Regional Commission, East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health Research, NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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Rural-Urban Differences in Health Care Unaffordability
Analyzes healthcare unaffordability in rural versus urban contexts as well as mitigating sociodemographic variables. Examines 90,761 survey responses from the 2019-2021 National Health Interview Survey according to 3 levels of unaffordability, further breaking down the data by race/ethnicity, sex, income, self-rated health, insurance type, education, age, and rural versus urban location.
Author(s): Hannah MacDougall, Daniel Mork, Stephanie Hanson, Carrie Henning Smith
Citation: The Journal of Rural Health, 40(2), 376-385
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
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Mapping Health Disparities in 11 High-Income Nations
Analyzes 11 high-income countries, including the U.S., for geographic health disparities related to socioeconomics, affordability, and access. Discusses factors where rural residency is either protective or a risk. Compares health disparities of U.S. rural residents with those of the other countries studied.
Author(s): Neil J. MacKinnon, Vanessa Emery, Jennifer Waller, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(7)
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
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