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Rural Health
Research Gateway

Aging

Research Products & Journal Articles

Browse the full list of research publications on this topic completed by the Rural Health Research Centers.

Products – Freely accessible products include policy briefs, fact sheets, full reports, chartbooks, and interactive data websites.

Journal Articles – Articles in peer-reviewed journals may require a subscription or affiliation with a subscribing library. For these publications, Gateway lists the article citation, a brief summary, a link to additional information and access to the full-text of the article, if available.

2024

2023

  • Medicare Advantage Enrollment Update 2023
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
    Date: 11/2023
    This policy brief continues RUPRI Center's annual update of Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment including the changes in enrollment in types of MA plans, and health policy changes that may have had an impact.

2022

  • Patterns of Health Care Use Among Rural-Urban Medicare Beneficiaries Age 85 and Older, 2010-2017
    Policy Brief
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 11/2022
    This study examines rural-urban differences in health care use among Medicare beneficiaries age 85+.
  • Nursing Homes in Rural America: A Chartbook
    Chartbook
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 07/2022
    Closure of nursing homes and hospitals with swing beds in recent years has changed the availability of post-acute and long-term care services in rural areas. This study examines the availability of post-acute and long-term care services as well as characteristics of residents and nursing homes in noncore, micropolitan, and metropolitan counties.

2021

2020

2019

  • Hospital Closures and Short-Run Change in Ambulance Call Times
    Journal Article
    Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
    Date: 11/2019
    Hospital closures affect the availability of emergency department services. This paper examines changes in ambulance ride times in areas with hospital closures compared to those in similar areas without hospital closures and separately analyzes changes in ambulance ride times between urban and rural areas and among Medicare-eligible patients.
  • Long-Term Services and Supports Use Among Older Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural and Urban Areas
    Journal Article
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 01/2019
    Analyzing the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, authors from the Maine Rural Health Research Center found that compared to their urban counterparts, rural Medicare beneficiaries had higher odds of nursing home use after controlling for beneficiary characteristics and contextual factors including nursing home bed supply.

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

  • Integrated Care Management in Rural Communities
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 05/2014
    This study reviews the opportunities and challenges reform initiatives under the Affordable Care Act present for rural communities. The study assesses four types of organizational models for delivering integrated care management. Each model has different strengths and drawbacks, weighing for and against implementation in rural areas.
  • Profile of Rural Residential Care Facilities: A Chartbook
    Chartbook
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 05/2014
    This chartbook offers information on part of the rural long-term services and supports (LTSS) continuum—the residential care facility (RCF). Survey results identify national/regional differences between rural and urban RCFs, focusing on facilities, resident and service characteristics of RCFs, and the ability to meet the LTSS needs of residents.

2013

2009

  • The Aging of the Primary Care Physician Workforce: Are Rural Locations Vulnerable?
    Policy Brief
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 06/2009
    Large numbers of primary care physicians are nearing retirement as fewer new U.S. medical graduates are choosing primary care careers. This policy brief describes the rural areas of the U.S. where impending retirements threaten access to primary care and offers potential solutions to the problem.

2007

2006

  • Health Risks Factors Among American Indians and Alaska Native Elders
    Journal Article
    Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 2006
    Chronic disease rates are higher among American Indian and Alaska Native elders although they exercise more and have higher rates of participation in multiple exercise activities. Research concerning the relationship between chronic disease and health risk factors is limited for American Indian and Alaska Native elder populations. This paper indicated results of an analysis of the effect of risk factors on chronic disease from a survey of 9,296 Native elders, representing 171 tribes from 88 sites. The sampling design employed systematic random sampling for larger tribes, with smaller tribes (fewer than 200) interviewing all or the majority of their elders. The data suggest that smokers, drinkers, and non-exercisers are at increase risk for chronic disease.

2005

2004

2003

  • Health Insurance Coverage of The Rural and Urban Near Elderly
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 10/2003
    This paper reports the results of a study that used data from the 1996-1998 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to address two principal research questions related to health insurance coverage for the rural near elderly.

2001

2000

  • The Effect of the Doctor-Patient Relationship on Emergency Department Use Among the Elderly
    Journal Article
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 01/2000
    OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine the rate of emergency department use among the elderly and examined whether that use is reduced if the patient has a principal-care physician.
    METHODS: The Health Care Financing Administration's National Claims History File was used to study emergency department use by Medicare patients older than 65 years in Washington State during 1994. RESULTS: A total of 18.1% of patients had 1 or more emergency department visits during the study year; the rate increased with age and illness severity. Patients with principal-care physicians were much less likely to use the emergency department for every category of disease severity. After case mix, Medicaid eligibility, and rural/urban residence were controlled for, the odds ratio for having any emergency department visit was 0.47 for patients with a generalist principal-care physician and 0.58 for patients with a specialist principal-care physician.
    CONCLUSIONS: The rate of emergency department use among the elderly is substantial, and most visits are for serious medical problems. The presence of a continuous relationship with a physician--regardless of specialty--may reduce emergency department use.
  • Emergency Department Use by the Rural Elderly
    Journal Article
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 2000
    This study uses Medicare data to compare emergency department (ED) use by rural and urban elderly beneficiaries. Given the similarity of diagnostic conditions associated with ED visits, rural EDs must be capable of dealing with the same range of emergency conditions as urban EDs.

1999

  • Rural and Urban Physicians: Does the Content of Their Medicare Practices Differ?
    Journal Article
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 1999
    Rural and urban areas have significant differences in the availability of medical technology, medical practice structures and patient populations. This study uses 1994 Medicare claims data to examine whether these differences are associated with variation in the content of practice between physicians practicing in rural and urban areas.