Public Health Research in Rural Communities
How CDC Studies and Reports on Rural Health Disparities
People who live in rural areas of the United States are more likely than urban residents to die prematurely from five of the leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke.
CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion uses several approaches to help improve the health of rural residents. One approach is studying and reporting on rural health disparities and innovative programs to reduce those disparities.
A Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report series of 13 articles on rural health disparities reported on leading causes of death, health behaviors, diabetes education programs, and cancer deaths. In conjunction with this research effort, CDC developed a rural health website to share study results and offer resources.
Other recent CDC publications on rural and urban health differences have included a variety of topics, such as arthritis symptoms, chronic pain, and oral health:
Arthritis
Cancer
Higher prevalence of hysterectomy among rural women than urban women: Implications for measures of disparities in uterine and cervical cancers. Journal of Rural Health
Interventions to increase breast and cervical cancer screening uptake among rural women: a scoping review. Cancer Causes & Control
Rural disparities in surgical care from gynecologic oncologists among Midwestern ovarian cancer patients. Gynecologic Oncology
Bridging the gap in potentially excess deaths between rural and urban counties in the United States. Public Health Reports
Impact of rurality on stage IV ovarian cancer at diagnosis: a Midwest cancer registry cohort study. Journal of Rural Health
Lung cancer incidence in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan counties — United States, 2007–2016. MMWR
Potentially excess deaths from the five leading causes of death in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties — United States, 2010–2017. MMWR Surveillance Summaries
Rural-urban and racial/ethnic disparities in invasive cervical cancer incidence in the United States, 2010–2014. Preventing Chronic Disease
Rural cancer control: bridging the chasm in geographic health inequity. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Chronic Pain
Prevalence of chronic pain and high-impact pain among adults — United States, 2016. MMWR
Diabetes
Disparities in recommended preventive care usage among persons living with diabetes in the Appalachian region. BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care
Issues that impact type 2 diabetes self-management in rural communities. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners
Rural–urban disparities in the prevalence of diabetes and coronary heart disease. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners
Residence in a distressed county in Appalachia as a risk factor for diabetes, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2006-2007. Preventing Chronic Disease
Geographic distribution of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S.: a diabetes belt. American Journal of Preventive Medicine
An emerging model for community health worker–based chronic care management for patients with high health care costs in rural Appalachia. Preventing Chronic Disease
Evaluating telehealth adoption and related barriers among hospitals located in rural and urban areas. The Journal of Rural Health
Heart Disease and Stroke
Weekend effect on in-hospital mortality for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in US rural and urban hospitals. Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases
Progress Toward Achieving National Targets for Reducing Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke Mortality: A County-Level Perspective. Journal of the American Heart Association
Widespread recent increases in county-level heart disease mortality across age groups. Annals of Epidemiology
What is the evidence for existing state laws to enhance pre-hospital stroke care? Division for Heart Disease and Stroke report
Improving stroke outcomes in rural areas through telestroke programs: an examination of barriers, facilitators, and state policies. Telemedicine Journal and E Health
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Urban-rural differences in health care utilization for inflammatory bowel disease in the USA, 2017. Digestive Diseases and Sciences
Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity
CDC programs to reduce obesity in high obesity areas (HOP) special collection (rural focus). Preventing Chronic Disease
National-level environmental perceptions and walking among urban and rural residents: informing surveillance of walkability. Preventive Medicine
Sugar-sweetened beverage intake among adults, by residence in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties in 12 states and the District of Columbia, 2017. Preventing Chronic Disease
Use of mass communication by public health programs in nonmetropolitan regions. Preventing Chronic Disease
Geographic and urban–rural differences in walking for leisure and transportation. American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Prevalence of Municipal-Level Policies Dedicated to Transportation That Consider Food Access. Preventing Chronic Disease
Public Health Representation on Active Transportation Bodies Across US Municipalities. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice
Racial and ethnic differences in perceived safety barriers to walking, United States National Health Interview Survey — 2015. Preventive Medicine
Oral Health
Disparities in Preventive Dental Care Among Children in Georgia. Preventing Chronic Disease
Disparities in receipt of preventive dental services in children from low-income families. American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Multilevel model to estimate county-level untreated dental caries among US children aged 6–9 years using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Preventive Medicine
Visualizing county-level data to target dental safety-net programs for children. Preventing Chronic Disease