scholarly journals The Uneven Perils of Unemployment and Underemployment: The Role of Employment Structure in explaining Rural-Urban Poverty Differences, 1970-2018.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew M Brooks

There has been a persistent gap in the poverty rate between urban and rural areas of the United States. Much of this gap has be attributed to industrial composition, however employment composition also likely plays a key role. Underemployment and labor force non-participation have been become significant issues in rural areas. This study uses data from the Current Population Survey for 1970 to 2018 to understand how poverty rates among 6 employment groups —(1) not in the labor force, (2) discouraged workers, (3) unemployed workers, (4) low hours workers, (5) low income workers, and (6) adequately employed workers— can explain the persistent gap in poverty between urban and rural areas. Demographic standardization and decomposition techniques reveal that majority of the poverty gap is explained by differences in poverty rates for the employment groups. Rural individuals in all employment group have higher poverty rates than urban individuals in the same group. Analysis also shows that if rural America had either the employment structure or the employment specific poverty rates of urban America than poverty rates would be much lower in rural areas.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (18) ◽  
pp. eabf4491
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Tessum ◽  
David A. Paolella ◽  
Sarah E. Chambliss ◽  
Joshua S. Apte ◽  
Jason D. Hill ◽  
...  

Racial-ethnic minorities in the United States are exposed to disproportionately high levels of ambient fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5), the largest environmental cause of human mortality. However, it is unknown which emission sources drive this disparity and whether differences exist by emission sector, geography, or demographics. Quantifying the PM2.5 exposure caused by each emitter type, we show that nearly all major emission categories—consistently across states, urban and rural areas, income levels, and exposure levels—contribute to the systemic PM2.5 exposure disparity experienced by people of color. We identify the most inequitable emission source types by state and city, thereby highlighting potential opportunities for addressing this persistent environmental inequity.


The Forum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth M. Johnson ◽  
Dante J. Scala

Abstract This study of the 2018 congressional midterms demonstrates how voting patterns and political attitudes vary across a spectrum of urban and rural areas in the United States. Rural America is no more a monolith than is urban America. The rural-urban gradient is better represented by a continuum than a dichotomy. This is evident in the voting results in 2018, just as it was in 2016. We found that the political tipping point lies beyond major metropolitan areas, in the suburban counties of smaller metropolitan areas. Democrats enjoyed even greater success in densely populated urban areas in 2018 than in 2016. Residents of these urban areas display distinctive and consistent social and political attitudes across a range of scales. At the other end of the continuum in remote rural areas, Republican candidates continued to command voter support despite the challenging national political environment. Voters in these rural regions expressed social and political attitudes diametrically opposed to their counterparts in large urban cores.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 102 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 245-247
Author(s):  
Robert A. Hoekelman

The increase in population of the United States is occurring at a much more rapid rate than the increase in medical and nursing personnel available to maintain health services at an optimum level. Unless the pattern of furnishing health care, particularly to lower socioeconomic groups in both urban and rural areas, is drastically improved, these groups will suffer from increasingly inadequate health supervision. This paper describes an educational and training program in pediatrics for professional nurses (the “pediatric nurse practitioner” program), which prepares them to assume an expanded role in providing increased health care for children in areas where there are limited facilities for such care.


Author(s):  
Morgan D. Vogel ◽  
Robert Blair ◽  
Jerome Deichert

Across the United States there is increased pressure for communities, especially in states like Nebraska, to engage in sustainable transportation infrastructure development. Through a case study of an ongoing statewide transportation initiative in nonmetropolitan Nebraska, this chapter examines transportation sustainability and planning from a regional and collaborative perspective. The Nebraska effort can be adapted to other states with significant rural and dispersed population centers. Funded by the state and the federal governments, Nebraska's transportation initiative, using an innovative public-private partnership, is creating and enhancing regional transit services in small urban and rural areas, using public transportation as a means to promote long-term economic growth and sustainability. Smaller urban and micropolitan communities, often serving as regional growth centers, frequently are overlooked when it comes to research on transportation planning and policy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chijioke Okoli ◽  
Mohammad Hajizadeh ◽  
Mohammad Mafizur Rahman ◽  
Rasheda Khanam

Abstract Background Maternal mortality has remained a challenge in many low-income countries, especially in Africa and in Nigeria in particular. This study examines the geographical and socioeconomic inequalities in maternal healthcare utilization in Nigeria over the period between 2003 and 2017. Methods The study used four rounds of Nigeria Demographic Health Surveys (DHS, 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018) for women aged 15–49 years old. The rate ratios and differences (RR and RD) were used to measure differences between urban and rural areas in terms of the utilization of the three maternal healthcare services including antenatal care (ANC), facility-based delivery (FBD), and skilled-birth attendance (SBA). The Theil index (T), between-group variance (BGV) were used to measure relative and absolute inequalities in the utilization of maternal healthcare across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. The relative and absolute concentration index (RC and AC) were used to measure education-and wealth-related inequalities in the utilization of maternal healthcare services. Results The RD shows that the gap in the utilization of FBD between urban and rural areas significantly increased by 0.3% per year over the study period. The Theil index suggests a decline in relative inequalities in ANC and FBD across the six geopolitical zones by 7, and 1.8% per year, respectively. The BGV results do not suggest any changes in absolute inequalities in ANC, FBD, and SBA utilization across the geopolitical zones over time. The results of the RC and the AC suggest a persistently higher concentration of maternal healthcare use among well-educated and wealthier mothers in Nigeria over the study period. Conclusion We found that the utilization of maternal healthcare is lower among poorer and less-educated women, as well as those living in rural areas and North West and North East geopolitical zones. Thus, the focus should be on implementing strategies that increase the uptake of maternal healthcare services among these groups.


Author(s):  
F. A. Sendrasoa ◽  
I. M. Ranaivo ◽  
N. H. Razanakoto ◽  
M. Andrianarison ◽  
O. Raharolahy ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Little is known about the epidemiology and associated factors of childhood AD in the markedly different, low-income, tropical environment like Madagascar. Methods We aim to assess the epidemiology and associated factors of AD in individuals fewer than 15 years of age in Antananarivo Madagascar. It was a retrospective and descriptive study over a period of 7 years (2010 to 2016) in children 6 months to 14 years in the Department of Dermatology, Joseph Raseta Befelatanana Antananarivo Madagascar. The diagnosis of AD was based on clinical data. Results The prevalence of AD was 5.6% in children aged 6 months to 14 years. The details of 151 cases of atopic dermatitis were analyzed. The mean age of patients was 4 years. There was a female preponderance (sex ratio: 0.7). A family history of AD was noted in 56 cases (37%). No association between breast-feeding and AD was found. The age of onset of AD was before the age of 3 months in 7.5% and between 6 months to 5 years in 70%. Children born in March (dry season) had the highest risk of AD. Consultations for AD increased during the winter (from July to October; p = 0.005). However, the prevalence of AD was similar in urban and rural areas. Conclusion Weather may have an impact on the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in Madagascar. No significant correlation was found between the duration of breastfeeding and AD, as well as urbanization.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e042654
Author(s):  
Yuxi Liu ◽  
Leni Kang ◽  
Chunhua He ◽  
Lei Miao ◽  
Xiaoqiong Qiu ◽  
...  

ObjectiveThe present study estimated the national and urban–rural levels and causes of neonatal deaths in China annually between 2014 and 2018 to provide data support for the further end of preventable neonatal deaths for China and other low-income and middle-income countries.MethodsThe study was based on data from the National Maternal and Child Health Surveillance System. All neonates of surveillance districts (gestational week: ≥28 weeks) who died after delivery have been involved in the study. The mortality rate and the leading causes of death for neonates were analysed.ResultsThe neonatal mortality rate (NMR) of China has steadily decreased from 5.9 deaths per 1000 live births in 2014 to 3.9 deaths per 1000 live births in 2018. The NMR in 2018 of urban and rural areas was 2.2 deaths per 1000 live births and 4.7 deaths per 1000 live births, respectively. The leading preventable causes of neonatal deaths are the same in the urban and rural areas were same, which were preterm birth, intrapartum complications and pneumonia. Mortality rates of these three causes fell significantly between 2014 and 2018 but contributed to a higher proportion of deaths in rural areas than urban areas. The proportion of preventable deaths accounted for 74.6% in 2018.ConclusionsThe NMR of China has decreased steadily from 2014 to 2018. However, the inequality between urban and rural areas still exists. The goal of government interventions should be to reduce the health inequality of neonates and further take targeted measures to eliminate preventable neonatal death.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Appiah-Effah ◽  
Kwabena Biritwum Nyarko ◽  
Samuel Fosu Gyasi ◽  
Esi Awuah

The challenge of faecal sludge management (FSM) in most developing countries is acute, particularly in low income areas. This study examined the management of faecal sludge (FS) from household latrines and public toilets in three districts in the Ashanti region of Ghana based on household surveys, key informant interviews and field observations. Communities did not have designated locations for the disposal and treatment of FS. For household toilets, about 31 and 42% of peri-urban and rural respondents, respectively, with their toilets full reported that they did not consider manual or mechanical desludging as an immediate remedy, although pits were accessible. Households rather preferred to close and abandon their toilets and use public toilets at a fee or practise open defecation. For the public toilets, desludging was manually carried out at a fee of GHC 800–1,800 and the process usually lasted 8–14 days per toilet facility. The study showed that FSM has not been adequately catered for in both peri-urban and rural areas. However, respondents from the peri-urban areas relatively manage their FS better than their rural counterparts. To address the poor FSM in the study communities, a decentralized FS composting is a potential technology that could be used.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iwan Prasodjo

This article discusses on poverty rate and inequlity in urban and rural areas during 2011-15. It shows that poverty rate tends todecrease. The poverty in rural area is worse than that in the urban one. The urban poor people work in the informal sector or in the small business. The poor in the rural areas work in the agriculture sector. The majority of poorest provinces is in the east Indonesia. However, the majority of the poor people live in Java island. Eventough the income inequility in Indonesia is moderate, but it  has been increased since 2011. There are many more poor people above the national poverty line. The government could inprove rural and east Indonesia infstructure in order to increase agriculture production. In this way the poverty in rural area and the gap between east and west Indonesia could decrease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Spyreli ◽  
Michelle C. McKinley ◽  
Jayne V. Woodside ◽  
Colette Kelly

Abstract Background The first UK-wide lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 had a serious financial impact on low-income households, a population already in higher risk of food insecurity and poor dietary choices. Qualitative data on the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on food decisions of UK families are scarce. This study aimed to explore how the measures to control the spread of COVID-19 influenced the food-related decisions of socioeconomically deprived families in Northern Ireland. Methods A qualitative study captured data from online individual interviews. Participation was open for parents of children 2–17 years old living on a tight budget in urban and rural areas of Northern Ireland. A sampling matrix enabled equal representation of single- and two-parent households, as well as parents of younger children (<12y) and adolescents (≥12y). Data were collected by using the methods of Photovoice and mapping exercise. Data were analysed through a thematic approach. Results Twelve online interviews were conducted and five distinct themes were identified reflecting families’ food-related decisions that were affected by the COVID-19 lockdown: 1) food planning; 2) food purchasing; 3) meal preparation; 4) eating and feeding behaviours and 5) eating food prepared outside the house. Conclusions The restrictions put in place to inhibit the spread of COVID-19 influenced all aspects of dietary decisions of low-income families. Changes observed during this period included frequent consumption of homemade meals, but also increased unhealthy snacking. Infrequent food shopping encouraged good meal planning, but was also a barrier to securing adequate fresh food. Food-related support including school meal assistance contributed to families’ food security, particularly those of single parents.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document