Rural Health
Research Gateway

Minority health

Research Products & Journal Articles

Browse the full list of research publications on this topic completed by the Rural Health Research Centers.

Products – Freely accessible products include policy briefs, fact sheets, full reports, chartbooks, and interactive data websites.

Journal Articles – Articles in peer-reviewed journals may require a subscription or affiliation with a subscribing library. For these publications, Gateway lists the article citation, a brief summary, a link to additional information and access to the full-text of the article, if available.

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

  • Rural Counties With Majority Black or Indigenous Populations Suffer the Highest Rates of Premature Death in the U.S.
    Journal Article
    University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 12/2019
    Despite well-documented health disparities by rurality and race/ethnicity, research investigating racial/ethnic health differences among U.S. rural residents is limited. We used county-level data to measure and compare premature death rates in rural counties by each county's majority racial/ethnic group.
  • Rural-Urban Differences in Financial Burden Among Cancer Survivors: An Analysis of a Nationally Representative Survey
    Journal Article
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 12/2019
    Rural cancer survivors may disproportionately experience financial problems due to their cancer because of greater travel costs, higher uninsured/underinsured rates, and other factors. Our objective was to examine rural-urban differences in reported financial problems due to cancer using a nationally representative survey.
  • Differences in Preventive Care Among Rural Residents by Race and Ethnicity
    Policy Brief
    University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 11/2019
    Disparities in preventive care by rural and urban location and by race and ethnicity are well documented in the literature, but less is known about whether there are differences in healthcare use among rural residents by race and ethnicity. We address this gap by examining differences in preventive care among rural residents by race and ethnicity.
  • Financial Hardship Among Rural Cancer Survivors: An Analysis of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey
    Journal Article
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 11/2019
    This study examined contrasts in financial hardship among 1,419 rural and urban cancer survivors using the 2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey supplement the Effects of Cancer and Its Treatment on Finances.
  • Geographic Disparities in Residential Proximity to Colorectal and Cervical Cancer Care Providers
    Journal Article
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 11/2019
    Persistent rural‐urban disparities for colorectal and cervical cancers raise concerns regarding access to treatment providers. To the authors knowledge, little is known regarding rural‐urban differences in residential proximity to cancer specialists.
  • Multilevel Analysis in Rural Cancer Control: A Conceptual Framework and Methodological Implications
    Journal Article
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 09/2019
    Our objective was two-fold: 1) to develop a multilevel conceptual framework describing how rural residence and relevant micro, macro, and supra-macro factors can be considered in evaluating disparities across the cancer control continuum and 2) to outline the unique considerations of multilevel statistical modeling in rural cancer research.
  • Challenges of Using Nationally Representative, Population-Based Surveys to Assess Rural Cancer Disparities
    Journal Article
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 08/2019
    Population-based surveys provide important information about cancer-related health behaviors across the cancer care continuum. However, due to small rural sample sizes, varying sampling methods, and/or other study design or analytical concerns, there are challenges in using population-based surveys for rural cancer control research and practice.
  • Social Determinants of Health Among Rural American Indian and Alaska Native Populations
    Policy Brief
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 07/2019
    This policy brief is the third in a series of four policy briefs prepared by the Rural and Minority Health Research Center on the topic of social determinants of health. In this brief, we document current disparities within the rural American Indian and Alaska Native population.
  • Social Determinants of Health Among Rural Asian and Pacific Islander Populations
    Policy Brief
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 07/2019
    This policy brief is the fourth in a series of four policy briefs prepared by the Rural and Minority Health Research Center on the topic of social determinants of health. In this brief, we document current disparities within the rural Asian and Pacific Islander population.
  • Social Determinants of Health Among the Rural African American Population
    Policy Brief
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 07/2019
    This policy brief is the first in a series of four policy briefs prepared by the Rural and Minority Health Research Center on the topic of social determinants of health. It compares the distribution of social determinants among African American and White rural residents using information from the 2016 U.S. Census.
  • Social Determinants of Health Among the Rural Hispanic Population
    Policy Brief
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 07/2019
    This policy brief is the second in a series of four policy briefs prepared by the Rural and Minority Health Research Center on the topic of social determinants of health. In this brief, we document current disparities within the rural Hispanic population. Gaps are larger for those who were born in the U.S. compared to those born outside the U.S.
  • Dying Too Soon: County-Level Disparities in Premature Death by Rurality, Race, and Ethnicity
    Policy Brief
    University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 03/2019
    In this brief, we examined county-level differences in premature death (years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 people) by county-level racial and ethnic composition, across rural and urban counties. We also calculated whether there were rural-urban disparities in mortality within counties with similar racial and ethnic compositions.
  • The Changing Landscape of Diabetes Mortality in the United States Across Region and Rurality, 1999-2016
    Journal Article
    Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 02/2019
    This brief report examines place-based differences in diabetes mortality to understand whether disparities in diabetes mortality have changed across U.S. Census regions and levels of rurality over time. Reductions in diabetes mortality are lagging in rural areas, and the rural South in particular, relative to other areas of the country.
  • Diabetes-Related Hospital Mortality in the U.S.: A Pooled Cross-Sectional Study of the National Inpatient Sample
    Journal Article
    Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 02/2019
    This study examined place-based and individual-level variations in diabetes-related hospital deaths using the 2009-2015 National Inpatient Sample. Results show that place-based disparities exist. Targeted focus should be placed on the control of diabetic complications in the South, West, and Midwest census regions and among rural residents.

2018

2017

  • Gender and Geographic Differences in Medicare Service Utilization During the Last Six Months of Life
    Journal Article
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 11/2017
    End-of-life issues are important for senior women, particularly rural women, who are more likely than their urban counterparts to live alone. The role of residence has yet to be investigated. The purpose of this study is to examine whether service utilization in the last six months of life differs across gender and rurality.
  • Diabetes Mortality in Rural America: 1999-2015
    Policy Brief
    Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 08/2017
    This brief is the second in a series prepared by the Southwest Rural Health Research Center on the topic of diabetes. The primary aim of this study was to understand the scope of diabetes-related mortality in urban and rural America. We analyzed mortality caused by diabetes over a 16-year period and explored the roles played by rurality and race.
  • Differences in Medicare Service Use in the Last Six Months of Life Among Rural and Urban Dual – Eligible Beneficiaries
    Report
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 08/2017
    In this brief, we compare rural and urban dual-eligible beneficiaries to Medicare-only beneficiaries in their service utilization in the last six months of life. Within rural beneficiaries, we further explore differences associated with race/ethnicity.
  • Rural-Urban Differences in Medicare Service Use in the Last Six Months of Life
    Report
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 08/2017
    This brief focuses on the current status of healthcare use during the last six months of life among Medicare beneficiaries. We used data from a sample of Medicare beneficiary claims to assess whether service utilization differed between rural and urban decedents and across decedents of different race/ethnicity categories.
  • Transitions in Care Among Rural Residents With Congestive Heart Failure, Acute Myocardial Infarction, and Pneumonia
    Report
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 08/2017
    Rural and urban hospitals vary with regard to the levels of care they are able to provide, requiring that a subset of patients be transferred from the first point of encounter to a second facility. The degree to which inter-hospital transfers occur, and the outcomes for transfer patients, have not been studied across rural and urban institutions.

2016

  • Vulnerable Rural Counties: The Changing Landscape, 2000-2010
    Policy Brief
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 07/2016
    This brief illustrates the distribution of rural vulnerable populations and the challenges they face. Understanding the demography of rural America is vital to understanding what programs, interventions and policy initiatives are needed to improve healthcare access, delivery and outcomes.

2014

  • Rural Border Health Chartbook II
    Chartbook
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 10/2014
    This chartbook presents an analysis of border counties, urban and rural, by comparing them to other counties within the four border states and to rural and urban counties in the rest of the county. It details county-level rates and statistics for socio-demographic factors, the physical environment, access to care, and health outcomes.

2013

2011

2008

2007

2006

  • Health Risks Factors Among American Indians and Alaska Native Elders
    Journal Article
    Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 2006
    Chronic disease rates are higher among American Indian and Alaska Native elders although they exercise more and have higher rates of participation in multiple exercise activities. Research concerning the relationship between chronic disease and health risk factors is limited for American Indian and Alaska Native elder populations. This paper indicated results of an analysis of the effect of risk factors on chronic disease from a survey of 9,296 Native elders, representing 171 tribes from 88 sites. The sampling design employed systematic random sampling for larger tribes, with smaller tribes (fewer than 200) interviewing all or the majority of their elders. The data suggest that smokers, drinkers, and non-exercisers are at increase risk for chronic disease.
  • Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Potentially Avoidable Delivery Complications Among Pregnant Medicaid Beneficiaries in South Carolina
    Journal Article
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 2006
    Within groups defined by race or ethnicity, unadjusted rates for potentially avoidable maternity complications did not differ significantly by hospital location. Potentially avoidable maternity complications in rural hospitals, African Americans had higher risk for complications than did non-Hispanic whites.
  • Rural Residence and Hispanic Ethnicity: Doubly Disadvantaged for Diabetes?
    Journal Article
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 2006
    Determines whether living in a rural area and being Hispanic confers special risks for diagnosis and control of diabetes.

2005

  • Prevalence of Chronic Disease Among American Indian and Alaska Native Elders
    Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 10/2005
    This report examines chronic disease prevalence and functional limitations among American Indian/Alaska Natives by rurality, gender, age, healthcare access, and health behaviors. It includes policy recommendations.
  • Suicide in North Dakota: A Dialogue Across State and Tribal Boundaries
    Policy Brief
    Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 10/2005
    This brief looks at three broad areas in addressing suicide: 1) an understanding of factors associated with suicide; 2) information about specific trends, such as race, gender, location, and costs; and 3) an awareness of suicide prevention strategies that address these factors through public policy and community action.
  • Trends in Uninsurance Among Rural Minority Children
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 10/2005
    Using 21 years of data from the National Health Interview Survey to explore trends in health insurance and health services utilization for children between 1980 and 2001, the authors found that rural children have been consistently less likely to have insurance than urban children, and minority status adds to the disparity.
  • Disability Burdens Among Older Americans Associated With Gender and Race/Ethnicity in Rural and Urban Areas
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 09/2005
    No prior research has investigated differences in disability-free and disabled life expectancy associated with rural or urban residence. This report addresses this gap and identifies differences in healthy life expectancy that may signal important policy needs.
  • More Culturally Sensitive Neuropsychological Tests (and Normative Data) Needed
    Journal Article
    Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 04/2005
    Discusses the need for culturally sensitive tests and normative data regarding the Native elder population.
  • Chronic Disease and Functional Limitation Among American Indian and Alaska Native Elders
    Journal Article
    Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 2005
    Reports the results of an analysis of chronic disease's effect on functional limitation from a survey of 7,107 Native elders representing 143 tribes from 77 sites.
  • Chronic Disease in American Indian/Alaska Native Elders
    Journal Article
    Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 2005
    This journal article describes the prevalence of chronic diseases among Native American elders.
  • Delivery Complications Associated With Prenatal Care Access for Medicaid-Insured Mothers in Rural and Urban Hospitals
    Journal Article
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 2005
    Examined access to healthcare during pregnancy for mothers insured by Medicaid as well as the risks of potentially avoidable maternity complications among rural and urban hospital deliveries for groups of mothers defined by race or ethnicity.
  • Explaining Black-White Differences in Receipt of Recommended Colon Cancer Treatment
    Journal Article
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 2005

    Black-white disparities exist in receipt of recommended medical care, including colorectal cancer treatment. This retrospective cohort study examines the degree to which health systems (e.g., physician, hospital) factors explain black-white disparities in colon cancer care. Black and white Medicare-insured colon cancer patients have an equal opportunity to learn about adjuvant chemotherapy from a medical oncologist but do not receive chemotherapy equally. Little disparity was explained by health systems; more was explained by illness severity, social support, and environment. Further qualitative research is needed to understand the factors that influence the lower receipt of chemotherapy by black patients.

  • Trends in Uninsurance Among Rural Minority Children (Fact Sheet)
    Fact Sheet
    Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Date: 2005
    This fact sheet describes childhood disparities found in health insurance, healthcare utilization, and factors related to acquiring health insurance.

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000