Measuring rurality in health services research: a scoping review.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

This study is a scoping review of the different methods used to measure rurality in the health services research (HSR) literature.

Methods

We identified peer-reviewed empirical studies from 2010-2020 from seven leading HSR journals, including the Journal of Rural Health, that used any definition to measure rurality as a part of their analysis. From each study, we identified the geographic unit (e.g., county, zip code) and definition (e.g., Rural Urban Continuum Codes, Rural Urban Commuting Areas) used to classify categories of rurality. We analyzed whether geographic units and definitions used to classify rurality differed by focus area of studies, including costs, quality, and access to care. Lastly, we examined the number of rural categories used by authors to asse

SUBMITTER: Danek R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9652888 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature