Social Determinants of Health for Rural People – Resources

Social Determinants of Health and County Population Rates of Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits, 2016
Examines characteristics of U.S. counties, comparing counties with high and low rates of opioid-related inpatient stays and treat-and-release emergency department (ED) visits among patients 15 years and older. Includes data for metro, rural adjacent to metro, and rural remote counties, as well as by urban-rural location and poverty rate.
Author(s): Pamela L. Owens, Audrey J. Weiss, Marguerite L. Barrett, Lawrence D. Reid
Date: 06/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Broadband: Observations on Past and Ongoing Efforts to Expand Access and Improve Mapping Data
Reviews previous and ongoing industry and federal government investments in the deployment of broadband in the United States. Compares the availability of fixed broadband services in urban, rural, and tribal areas. Describes federal programs to expand and support broadband access, as well as proposed reforms for mapping broadband deployment data.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 06/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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All Counties with Extreme Poverty in 2018 Were Rural (Nonmetro) Counties
Map showing high and extreme poverty counties by nonmetro and metro county designation.
Date: 06/2020
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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A Decade Undone: Youth Disconnection in the Age of Coronavirus
Features a report on young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither in school or working. Full report details demographic information such as race and ethnicity, gender, and living arrangements. Also compares disconnection among rural and urban youth.
Additional links: Conclusions and Recommendations, Full Report, Interactive Tool
Author(s): Kristen Lewis
Date: 06/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Measure of America
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Extreme Poverty Counties Found Solely in Rural Areas in 2018
Examines high and extreme poverty areas by rural and urban county designation. Includes a map showing rural high poverty and extreme poverty counties and urban high poverty counties. Discusses the geographic concentration of extreme poverty in regions with above-average populations of racial minorities, highlighting 6 counties in South Dakota with a large Native American population and 4 counties in Mississippi with historically high poverty rates among African Americans.
Author(s): Tracey Farrigan
Citation: Amber Waves
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Social Determinants of Health and 90‐Day Mortality After Hospitalization for Heart Failure in the REGARDS Study
Uses data from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study to examine associations between social determinants of health (SDOH) and risk of 90-day mortality after heart failure (HF) hospitalization among Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older. Some of the SDOH considered include African American race, social isolation, rural residence, living in a high poverty ZIP code or Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), and more.
Author(s): Madeline R. Sterling, Joanna Bryan Ringel, Laura C. Pinheiro, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Heart Association, 9(9)
Date: 04/2020
Type: Document
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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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Highest U.S. Poverty Rates Are in the South, with over 20 Percent Poor in Its Rural Areas
Bar chart showing rural and urban poverty rates by region for the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West, based on data from the 2014-2018 American Community Survey.
Date: 03/2020
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Many Rural Americans Are Still "Left Behind"
An overview of trends in rural poverty from 1959 through 2016. Discusses how rural and urban poverty are different. Highlights changes in education and employment, the impact of race/ethnicity, and data on rural child poverty.
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Institute for Research on Poverty
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Quantification of Neighborhood-Level Social Determinants of Health in the Continental United States
Results of a study examining 71,901 census tracts, to quantify the social determinants of health (SDOH) consisting of advantage, isolation, opportunity, and mixed immigrant cohesion. Features demographic statistics with breakdowns by 7 multidimensional neighborhood typologies, including Rural Affordable. Offers comparisons between SDOH in Chicago and the rest of the continental United States.
Author(s): Marynia Kolak, Jay Bhatt, Yoon Hong Park, Norma A. Padron, Ayrin Molefe
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 3(1)
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
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