Travel Burden to Receive Health Care

Link	View Research Recap
Date	10/2022
Description	The average rural resident traveled 120% more miles per one-way trip to receive medical or dental care than the average urban resident, in 2017. This Recap explores travel burdens to receive care, including time spent in travel, distance traveled, financial burden of travel, public transportation use, and motor vehicle fatalities.
Topics	Healthcare access, Transportation

Rural Health Research Products Included in this Recap

• Geographic Access to Health Care for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries: A National Study
  Policy Brief
  WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 09/2021
  Using national data from 2014, this policy brief describes geographic variation in the mix of providers caring for rural versus urban Medicare beneficiaries, the quantity of visits received by beneficiaries across Census Divisions and types of rural areas, and the distance traveled for care for several serious conditions.
• Rural-Urban Differences in Risk Factors for Motor Vehicle Fatalities
  Journal Article
  University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 09/2018
  This study uses 2017 County Health Rankings data to run stratified regression models to estimate county-level correlates of motor vehicle fatalities (MVFs) by rural and urban location. We found that rural counties have higher rates of MVFs than urban counties (22 vs. 14 per 100,000, p<0.001).
• Rural-Urban Variations in Travel Burdens for Care: Findings From the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (Policy Brief)
  Policy Brief
  Southwest Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 07/2021
  This project focuses on geographic access to medical and dental care, knowing that travel distances can keep people from getting necessary care. The study examines how rural residents' travel behaviors vary by socio-demographic and geographic characteristics and evaluates factors associated with a higher travel burden for medical and dental care.