Rural Health Research Gateway

Chartbook: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Health of Rural Populations

Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Research center: South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
Phone: 803.251.6317
Lead researcher: Janice C. Probst, PhD , 803.251.6317, jprobst@gwm.sc.edu
Project funded: September 2006
Anticipated completion date:April 2008
Topics: Health disparities
Minority health
Rural statistics and demographics

Statistics illustrating disparities in health experienced by rural populations, and by rural minorities in particular, are at present located in multiple sources, inconvenient to access. Effective policy for eliminating health disparities cannot be developed without basic epidemiologic and utilization information about rural populations. A focused report illustrating disparities within rural populations, made widely available and containing state-specific information, should contribute demonstrably to understanding dually disadvantaged populations, rural minorities. The goals of the chartbook are:

  • To provide an accurate estimate of population health, access to care, quality of care and outcomes among the adult population, documenting disparities based on residence and race/ethnicity
  • To provide state-specific estimates for key indicators of the preceding measures