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Transportation to Support Rural Healthcare – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Transportation to Support Rural Healthcare.

Resources on Rides for Employment for Older Adults and People with Disabilities
Describes differences in transportation accessibility for older adults and people with disabilities based on resources available in particular communities. Provides resources and example programs focused on improving transportation options in rural areas.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Aging and Disability Transportation Center
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Impacts of Transit on Health in Rural and Small Urban Areas
Overview of how public transportation affects health in rural and small urban areas. Summarizes findings from a literature review that looked at public transportation as it relates to the social determinants of health, healthcare access, physical activity, social isolation, and mental health. Also reports results from a survey of rural older adults supplemented by data analysis looking at travel for healthcare, challenges related to public transportation, and the impacts of missed or delayed healthcare trips.
Author(s): Jeremy Mattson, Bright Quayson
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
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Travel for Medical or Dental Care by Race/Ethnicity and Rurality in the U.S.: Findings from the 2001, 2009 and 2017 National Household Travel Surveys
Analyzes National Household Travel Surveys from 2001, 2009, and 2017 to determine trends in average travel distance and travel burden between rural and urban residents seeking medical or dental care. Includes analysis of race and ethnicity as well as comparisons between travel for medical or dental care and employment.
Author(s): Marvellous Akinlotan, Nima Khodakarami, Kristin Primm, Jane Bolin, Alva O. Ferdinand
Citation: Preventative Medicine Reports, 35, 102297
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
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Access to Intercity Transportation in Rural Areas
Provides information and an interactive map that shows the percentage of rural residents who have access to commercial air, intercity bus, or intercity rail transportation. Includes county-level data for the years 2006, 2012, 2018, and 2021. Depicts state-level transportation access data as well as demographic characteristics of rural areas.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
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New Growth Transit: Community-Based Transit for Rural Communities
Video featuring West Central Missouri Community Action Agency's New Growth Transit volunteer driver network, which provides transportation for mobility-challenged clients living in 9 rural counties in West Central Missouri.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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An Active Roadmap: Best Practices in Rural Mobility
Provides a literature review and cases studies related to the ways rural communities encourage health-focused infrastructure, multimodal transportation, economic development, and environmentally safe practices. Describes the typology and demographics of rural areas and discusses how transportation is linked to wellness and community health outcomes.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Smart Growth America, The National Complete Streets Coalition
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Expanded Report to Congress: Non-Emergency Medical Transportation in Medicaid, 2018–2021
Examines the Medicaid analysis of non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) using Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) data from 2018-2021. Explores the number and percentage of Medicaid beneficiaries using NEMT, the average number of NEMT "ride days" per NEMT user per month enrolled in Medicaid, the types of medical services accessed when using NEMT, monthly trends in the use of NEMT versus telehealth services before and during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and the volume of NEMT services used by type of NEMT delivery model. Offers recommendations for states and local stakeholders regarding Medicaid coverage of NEMT. Presents data by state and by beneficiary characteristics, including Medicaid eligibility category, health conditions, and urban-rural location.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Comparing Public Transportation Services for Rural States in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains Region
Analyzes the availability of public transportation in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Minnesota by comparing the availability of rural transit and urban transit services in these states. Includes county-level maps showing level of transportation services by days and hours available, rural trips per capita, and rural vehicle revenue miles (VRM) per capita. Provides a list of rural, tribal, and urban transit agencies by state, including those servicing medical trips.
Author(s): Jeremy Mattson, Bright Quayson, Zhila Dehdari Ebrahimi
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
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2022 Transportation Trends
Identifies trends and issues affecting the availability of accessible transportation for older adults and people with disabilities. Summarizes results of a September 2022 survey of public transit and human services transportation providers; stakeholders; and aging and disability organizations such as Area Agencies on Aging, Centers for Independent Living and Aging and Disability Resource Centers. Discusses nine themes related to the challenges of providing transportation to older adults, younger adults with disabilities, and caregivers, including the lack of transportation options in rural areas.
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Aging and Disability Transportation Center
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More than One in Five Adults with Limited Public Transit Access Forgo Health Care Because of Transportation Barriers
Provides information on adults who have foregone healthcare due to lack of transportation. Analyzes June 2022 data from the Urban Institute's Health Reform Monitoring Survey (HRMS) on healthcare access, missed appointments, and access to vehicles, with data broken down by race/ethnicity, disability status, health insurance coverage, and rural versus urban residence.
Author(s): Laura Barrie Smith, Michael Karpman, Dulce Gonzalez, Sarah Morriss
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Urban Institute
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Last Updated: 10/22/2024