Rural Health
Research Gateway

Review of Current Research on Rural/Urban Differences in Social Drivers of Health

Research center:
Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
Phone: 859.218.0108
Lead researcher:
Katherine Youngen, MPH, 859.562.2643, katherine.youngen@uky.edu
Project funded:
September 2022
Project completed:
April 2026
Topics:
Healthcare access, Poverty, Quality, Social determinants of health, Uninsured and underinsured

A 2019 publication describing the prevalence of social drivers of health found that over half of a nationally representative sample has at least one social driver of health need. The most common social drivers of health needs were low education, low income, being uninsured, food insecurity, housing insecurity, and being unemployed/underemployed. This publication did not analyze data based on rural/urban status. Another publication from 2017 found some differences in rural/urban health outcomes related to social drivers of health, including lower life expectancy and higher child and infant mortality rates in rural communities.

The Healthy People 2030 initiative notes that acknowledging and addressing social drivers of health requires more than promoting healthy choices or providing health education ("Social Determinants of Health - Healthy People 2030"). Addressing and improving social drivers requires multi-sectoral collaboration to improve the conditions in which people live. Public health, health care agencies, and policymakers play critical roles in assessing current social drivers of health, implementing policies and programs to address identified needs, and evaluating the success of those programs.

This project drew from existing Rural Health Centers' work, including recent policy briefs and presentations, government agencies' reports, and peer-reviewed journal articles. We summarized what is currently known about social drivers of health needs among rural populations and how their needs differ from those in urban areas. The findings informed further research or policies and programs aimed at improving the social drivers of health in rural communities.


Publications