This website is being reviewed for updates. Some information is offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Rural Health
Research Gateway

Rural statistics and demographics

Completed Projects

Listed by project completion date. You can also view these projects alphabetically.

2024

  • Rural Premiums, Issuer Participation, and Enrollment in Health Insurance Marketplaces: An Updated Analysis
    The project described variations in Health Insurance Marketplace plan design and availability, total and net-of-subsidy premium trends, and enrollment over time between rural and urban areas and identified associations between these factors and several key policy differences and changes, controlling for economic and demographic variation.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Health reform, Healthcare access, Private health insurance, Rural statistics and demographics, Uninsured and underinsured

2023

  • Ambulance Deserts: Addressing Geographic Disparities in the Provision of Ambulance Services
    This two-year study aimed to identify geographic disparities in accessing ambulance services by building a database of ambulance service locations in year one and identifying and creating maps of ambulance deserts within each of the states in year two.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Emergency medical services (EMS) and trauma, Healthcare access, Rural statistics and demographics, Transportation

2022

  • Northern Border Regional Commission State and Region Chartbooks: A Health-Focused Landscape Analysis
    The aim of this study was to compile the most recent publicly available data related to health and healthcare access at the county-level and state-level for the Norther Border Region and the individual states: ME, NH, VT, and NY. We highlighted counties with worse health outcomes, as compared to the rest of the counties in the region.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health, Substance use and treatment, Telehealth, Uninsured and underinsured, Workforce

2021

  • The Current Distribution of the General Surgery Workforce in Rural America
    This project described the current national supply and distribution of general surgeons in rural vs. urban areas of the United States as well as geographic variability in the supply of general surgeons across the rural/urban and intra-rural dimensions at the regional level.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Health services, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Physicians, Rural statistics and demographics, Workforce

2019

  • Analysis of Trends in Characteristics of Rural Beneficiaries Enrolling in Medicare Advantage Plans
    This study compared characteristics of rural and urban beneficiaries enrolling in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, including their age, health status, income, and race/ethnicity. We analyzed the consequences of increasing use, promoted by policy choices, of a market-based approach in the Medicare program.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Medicare Advantage (MA), Rural statistics and demographics

2018

  • Rural Demography and Aging: The LTSS Imperative in Rural America
    The project created a current, broad-ranging, detailed profile of healthcare/LTSS needs and used patterns among rural and urban older adults through a literature review and analysis of data sets including the American Community Survey, the Area Health Resource File, and the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Aging, Rural statistics and demographics

2017

  • Knowledge of Health Insurance Concepts and the Affordable Care Act Among Rural Residents
    Using the Health Reform Monitoring Survey (HRMS), this project will produce two briefs examining rural-urban comparisons in insurance status, open enrollment knowledge and perceptions, and perceived affordability of coverage available through the Health Insurance Marketplaces.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health reform, Private health insurance, Rural statistics and demographics
  • The Financial and Community Experience of Sole Community Hospitals in Comparison to Other Rural Hospitals
    This research will investigate the financial and community experience of Sole Community Hospitals (SCHs) in comparison with other rural hospitals. The availability of alternative facilities, and the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of SCH service areas will be compared to other rural hospital service areas.
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Medicare, Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS), Rural statistics and demographics

2008

  • National Study of Substance Abuse Prevalence and Treatment Services in Rural Areas
    This project will research the prevalence of the abuse of legal and illegal substances across rural populations and geographic areas, including the extent to which rural individuals are receiving treatment for their substance abuse and barriers to the receipt of treatment.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health services, Rural statistics and demographics, Substance use and treatment

2007

  • State Facts about Medicaid: Rural Specific Data
    This project will develop state-specific fact sheets which will include information on the groups covered (and income eligibility), structure of the state's SCHIP program, services covered, delivery system, some provider payment information for certain safety net providers, and percentage of the state's rural and urban population that are enrolled in Medicaid. Additional information comparing urban and rural areas of the state will be provided, when available. The rural and urban comparisons will include total numbers of Medicaid recipients, Medicaid expenditures, and enrollment in different types of managed care plans.
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topics: Medicaid and CHIP, Rural statistics and demographics
  • U.S. Hospitalizations for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions: A Rural/Urban Comparison
    This project will assess trends, patterns, and predictors of hospitalizations for three ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) (i.e., uncontrolled diabetes, bacterial pneumonia, and pediatric asthma) among rural and urban residents in the United States. The study will involve the examination of 2003 HCUP Nationwide Inpatient Sample data.
    Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Rural statistics and demographics

2006

  • Impact of Health Insurance Coverage on Native Elder Health: Implications for Addressing the Health Care Needs of Rural American Indian Elders
    This project examined the types of health insurance coverage of rural Native American elders ages 55 and older, and examine how different types of health insurance coverage and lack of health insurance coverage impact access to health care services among Native American elders by geographic location (rural frontier, rural non-frontier and urban).
    Research center: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Aging, Frontier health, Healthcare access, Private health insurance, Rural statistics and demographics, Uninsured and underinsured
  • Pharmaceutical Data Validity in Estimating Rural Population Health
    This project will allow for the quantification of variation in morbidity (via prescription use) across rural areas; identify locations that might be at risk for stunted economic development due to high levels of chronic illness in the working population; and potentially lead to the development of a valid and reliable measure of county-level rates of chronic illness using prescription data as a proxy.
    Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
    Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Pharmacy and prescription drugs, Public health, Rural statistics and demographics
  • Rapid and Flexible Analysis of Data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
    Project staff will provide rapid and flexible analysis of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data in response to requests from Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) staff. Work will be ongoing throughout the contract year, with the design of individual products determined in response to ORHP staff needs.
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topics: Medicare, Rural statistics and demographics

2004

2003

2001

  • Describing the Health Care Infrastructure in Rural Towns
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topics: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Hospitals and clinics, Physician assistants, Physicians, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Rural statistics and demographics