There is evidence that diabetes patients residing in rural areas, especially those with lower socio-economic status and from minority groups, are less likely to receive guideline-based diabetes preventive care in some areas. However, it is not known if disparities between rural and urban areas in diabetes care exist throughout the United States. The purpose of this study is to find out if there is a difference in prevalence, diabetes care received, and health care resource utilization for diabetes among rural populations as compared to the urban populations. This study will analyze data from two nationally conducted surveys, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to find out if rural populations when compared to urban populations differ in the prevalence of diabetes, health care received, and in diabetes related health care resource utilization. Project staff will also determine if the results of the above examinations are the same across these two national data sets.

There may be products related to this project; please contact the lead researcher for more information.