This report examines trends in emergency department (ED) discharge opioid prescribing for adults from 2006–2007 through 2016–2017. It provides data by selected patient and hospital characteristics and the type of opioids prescribed. Table 1 includes data on the percent of ED patients prescribed an opioid at discharge by location of patient residence for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. Read more here.

This resource is a mapping and data analysis focused on rural communities. It includes a gallery of maps addressing various issues, including maps currently in beta focused on rural healthcare trends, hospital closures, and rural definitions. Find more information here.

This report details the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) efforts in improving rural public transit coordination and identifies areas for improvement. It highlights some of the challenges affecting the FTA’s ability to effectively coordinate transportation for rural and tribal areas. Read the overview here. Read the full report here: Full Report

This report provides results from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey for calendar year 2018. It summarizes reporting rates and performance among all U.S. Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). It includes detailed tables that allow state-by-state comparison of response rates and overall CAH performance. Read more here.

This report focuses on the shortcomings of the federal nutrition guidelines in meeting the nutritional needs of older adults. Bases recommendations on interviews with older adults in both rural and urban areas. Read an overview here. Read the full report here: Full Report

This resource provides access to data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau. It includes the American Community Survey (ACS) with socioeconomic and demographic data and the ability to narrow to rural data. Find more information here. Historical U.S. Census data is available on American Factfinder.

This article presents results of a cross-sectional county-level study using all reported direct-to-physician pharmaceutical payments from manufacturers of opioid use disorder medications from 2014-2017, as well as demographic and economic data from 3,140 counties. It features statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, and rural areas. Read more here.

This research letter describes a study of the Online Purchase Pilot (OPP), which allows beneficiaries in 8 states to use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to buy groceries online. It includes statistics on the availability of grocery delivery among rural food desert census tracts and SNAP households in the 8 OPP states. Read more here.

This article presents an overview of a study that suggests fewer than 1 in 10 U.S. primary care providers can prescribe buprenorphine to treat opioid addiction. Findings show counties with the highest opioid overdoses saw a climb in physicians able to prescribe the medication, but rural communities did not see as much of an increase as urban communities. Read more here.