Research Alert: July 31, 2018

Addressing Commuting as a Public Health Issue: Strategies Should Differ by Rurality

Car commuting is a known risk factor for poor health, by contributing to sedentary behavior and air pollution; prevention efforts to reduce car commuting—especially long, solo commutes—are important to improving public health. This brief estimates the rate of solo car commuting and long (greater than 30 minutes) solo car commutes by rurality and urban adjacency and identifies differences in socio-demographic factors that relate to commuting behavior by geographic location.

Additional Resources of Interest:

• Rural Transportation: Challenges and Opportunities
• More information about the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
• More information from the Rural Health Information Hub's topic guides: Social Determinants of Health, Transportation to Support Rural Healthcare