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Rural-Urban Residence And Mortality Among Three Cohorts Of U.S. Adults, Erika C. Ziller Phd, Jennifer D. Lenardson Mhs, Katherine A. Ahrens Mph, Phd

Population Health

Though U.S. life expectancy has increased over the past 50 years, this benefit has not been geographically uniform and certain rural persons and communities face a mortality gap. Rural residents experience a shorter life expectancy than urban residents, with higher mortality rates from specific causes such as chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, coronary heart disease, and lung cancer. Overall, there are higher mortality rates among rural residents for all five leading causes of death – heart disease, stroke, cancer, unintentional injury, and chronic lower respiratory disease – as compared to urban residents.

We sought to close gaps in our understanding of …

Access To Health Care Services For Adults In Maine [Policy Brief], Erika C. Ziller Phd, Barbara Leonard Mph, Amanda Burgess Mppm, Nathan Paluso Mph

Access / Insurance

This data brief by researchers at the Maine Health Access Foundation and the University of Southern Maine's Maine Rural Health Research Center found ongoing inequality in the ability of people in Maine to get quality health care. The report examines data from 2014-2016 and shows that Maine people, of all income groups, report difficulties in paying medical costs. Research has also found the ability to seek timely and appropriate health care is impacted by income levels, educational background, race and ethnicity.
This brief provides an update to the 2016 study (available in Digital Commons: https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=insurance)

For more information, please …

Access To Health Care Services For Adults In Maine [Report], Erika C. Ziller Phd

Access / Insurance

On October 17, 2016, the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) released a new research brief developed with the University of Southern Maine that found significant inequality in the ability of people in Maine to access quality health care. The authors, Barbara Leonard from MeHAF and Erika Ziller from the USM Muskie School, found that income, age and education are all closely associated with Maine people’s ability to receive appropriate and timely health care. Specifically, they found that among Maine adults 18 and older, those with family incomes less than $25,000 a year, young adults, racial and ethnic minorities, and people …