Rural Definitions
This 2010 Census definition describes any area not within an urbanized area or urban cluster and often includes settlements with fewer than 2,500 residents
What is a rural area?
Name one major barrier to access to care in rural communities.
What are limited providers, transportation barriers, distance from care, insurance barriers, or medication access issues?
This factor was rated important by 98% of graduates when selecting a practice location.
What is lifestyle?
The acronym MUA stands for this designation.
What is a Medically Underserved Area?
Rural patients have an estimated 8% to 15% increased risk of death from this disease.
What is colon cancer?
According to the Census, an area must have at least this many people to qualify as urban.
What are 5,000 people?
As of September 2024, this percentage of Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) were located in rural areas.
What is 66.33%?
At 95%, this was the second-highest rated factor influencing graduates' practice location decisions.
What is access to amenities and recreation?
The acronym MUP stands for this designation.
What is a Medically Underserved Population?
Mortality from this type of cancer is up to 20% higher in rural areas than in metropolitan areas.
What is lung cancer?
An urban area may also be defined by having at least this many housing units.
What are 2,000 housing units?
This challenge often requires rural residents to travel long distances for appointments and specialty care.
What is geographic distance from healthcare facilities?
This emergency medicine factor was identified as important by 93% of graduates.
What is ED volume and acuity?
MUAs and MUPs are established to identify communities with this type of healthcare disadvantage.
What is inadequate access to healthcare services?
Rural populations have a higher prevalence of this broad category of health conditions.
What is chronic disease?
After the 2020 Census, this percentage of U.S. land area was classified as rural.
What is 97%?
Individuals with disabilities or chronic illnesses may struggle with access to care because of the lack of this resource.
What is reliable transportation?
Ninety percent of graduates considered this personal relationship factor important when choosing where to practice.
What are family/spouse considerations?
Rural communities are frequently designated as MUAs because of shortages of these healthcare professionals.
What are primary care providers?
Compared with urban communities, treatment and recovery services for this condition are often more limited in rural areas.
What is substance use disorder (SUD)?
After the 2020 Census, approximately 66.3 million Americans, or this percentage of the population, were classified as living in rural areas.
What is 20%?
This overarching issue contributes to delays in treatment, missed appointments, and poorer health outcomes.
What is limited access to healthcare services?
Difficulty recruiting and retaining providers contributes to this major rural healthcare challenge.
What is a workforce shortage?
These designations help direct resources and programs toward populations with healthcare access challenges.
What are MUA and MUP designations?
Higher cancer mortality rates and chronic disease burden are examples of these differences in health outcomes.
What are health disparities?