Considerations for defining rural places in health policies and programs
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Author(s):
- Mueller, Keith J., author Coburn, Andrew F., author Knudson, Alana, author Lundblad, Jennifer P., author MacKinney, A. Clinton, author McBride, Timothy, author Mobley, Erin, author Ullrich, Fred, author Barker, Abigail, author
- Contributor(s):
- Rural Policy Research Institute (U.S.), issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Iowa City, Iowa] : Rural Policy Research Institute, May 2020
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Health Policy Rural Health Services Rural Population Terminology as Topic United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Rural definitions used in statute and policy define populations and geographies to direct resources for health care service delivery to underserved peoples. But recent events, including re-tooling of U.S. Census data and shifts in the U.S. economy, have contributed to growing concern about the continued application of historic approaches to defining rural. This paper identifies key questions to ask when creating, modifying, or using a definition; outlines important aspects of framing a rural definition; gives a brief overview of rural definitions currently in use by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) programs; and discusses options for creating rural definitions that meet program needs. It updates the Panel's 2007 paper on this subject "Choosing Rural Definitions: Implications for Health Policy". Definitions of rural are often specific to particular policies and programs, but in general they must be data-driven, based on a relevant framework, align with a heuristic sense of what is rural, use consistent methodology over time, and be timely. Challenges in meeting those criteria include questions of reliability and validity of data, ability to access precise geographic data, and the impact of changes in population mobility and economic activity on rural definitions.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (17 pages))
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101771118 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101771118