Health, Social, and Demographic Trends in Rural Communities

项目摘要 城乡差距很大，农村地区的公共卫生状况往往较差，教育水平较低， 更高的失业率和更低的工资和收入，这只是几个例子。该项目是第一个 系统地了解美国各地小型农村社区的状况和变化。 我们根据社会、经济、人口和健康特征如何影响 1980年至2010年期间，这些疾病在小型农村社区交织在一起。我们关注的是人口少于2500人的地方 居民，但他们的条件和变化模式与稍大的地方（2500 - 19999人口）。到 更好地了解独特的地方性挑战。我们通过整合数据来创建基于位置的数据集 来自人口普查局、国家卫生统计中心、美国农业部、联邦通信委员会、国家公园管理局和其他 源重要的是，进行了方法上的创新，以生成基于地点的健康信息， 这是一个重要的扩展，因为卫生数据往往只在县一级提供。最后，我们认为 小城镇的小规模和孤立对旨在 改善公共卫生、经济机会和社会福利。更好地了解他们的 社会经济、人口和卫生动态对于制定知情政策至关重要。

Project Summary The rural-urban divide is vast, with rural places tending to have poorer public health, lower levels of education, higher unemployment and lower wages and income, as just a few examples. This project is the first to systematically develop an understanding of conditions and change in small rural communities across the U.S. We identify patterns of change based on how social, economic, demographic and health characteristics have intertwined in small rural communities over the period 1980 to 2010. We focus on places with fewer than 2,500 residents but contrast their conditions and patterns of change with slightly larger places (2,500-19,999 pop.) to improve understanding of unique place-based challenges. We create a place-based dataset by integrating data from the Census Bureau, National Center for Health Statistics, USDA, FCC, National Park Service and other sources. Importantly, methodological innovations are undertaken to generate a place-based health information, an important extension since health data tends to be available only at the county level. In the end, we argue that the small size and isolation of tiny towns pose particular challenges for policies and programs designed to improve public health, economic opportunity and social well-being. Improved understanding of their socioeconomic, demographic and health dynamics is critically essential for the development of informed policy.