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Learn More About Changes to the Federal Definitions of Rural

This recording of a webinar hosted by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health explores the recent changes to the rural definition that FORHP uses to determine eligibility for grants.  The recording also includes discussion of proposed changes to designations set by the Census Bureau and by the Office of Management and Budget (e.g., Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Urbanized Areas) and how those relate to FORHP’s definition.

Urban–Rural Differences in Drug Overdose Death Rates, 1999–2019

Select key findings
Data from the National Vital Statistics System, Mortality

  • From 1999 through 2019, the rate of drug overdose deaths increased from 6.4 per 100,000 to 22.0 in urban counties and from 4.0 to 19.6 in rural counties.
  • In 2019, rates in rural counties were higher than in urban counties in California, Connecticut, North Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia.

Keywords

opioids, methamphetamine, National Vital Statistics System, Mortality (NVSS–M)

 

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From 2016-2019, the age-adjusted drug overdose death rates were higher in urban counties than in rural counties.

 

Suggested Citation:

Hedegaard H, Spencer MR. Urban–rural differences in drug overdose death rates, 1999–2019. NCHS Data Brief, no 403. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2021. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:102891.

 

Ways to Access Other NCHS Products and the National Vital Statistics System:

NVSS home page
Other NCHS products and publications
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CDC Ebola Clinical Alert

A recent HealthLeaders article discusses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “Ebola Clinical Alert for U.S. Healthcare Personnel” and is recommending that all U.S. healthcare settings should ask about international travel while screening patients and visitors for signs and symptoms of COVID-19.  As of March 4, airlines are also required to collect and transmit contact information to the CDC for “appropriate public health follow-up and intervention for all passengers boarding a flight to the U.S. who were in the Dominical Republic of the Congo or the Republic of Guinea within 21 days before their arrival in the U.S.  International travel histories are to alert healthcare personnel to the possibility of other communicable infections, such a viral hemorrhagic fever, that need specific infection control precautions and/or treatments.