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Urban-Rural Health Disparities at Older Ages

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging

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Synonyms

Rurality; Urbanicity; Urban-rural disparities

Definition (of Entry Term)

“Rural” refers to places and communities of low human population density characteristic of areas outside of large metropolitan areas. “Urban” refers to places and communities of higher population density, generally those areas in cities and surrounding areas. Rural older adults are a population group that experiences notable differences in health outcomes compared to their urban counterparts. Urban-rural health disparities reflect the dichotomy of urban living versus rural living and the impact those have on economics, health, and other aspects of life.

Overview

Where someone lives is critical to determine their health and quality of life in numerous ways. Evidence that one’s place of residence plays a critical role in determining health status comes from research both in the USA and in other countries across the globe. There has been an increasing interest in assessing place-based characteristics or...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Studies, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA

    Steven A. Cohen & Mary L. Greaney

Authors
  1. Steven A. Cohen
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  2. Mary L. Greaney
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven A. Cohen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Population Division, UN Dept of Economic Social Affairs Population Division, New York, NY, USA

    Danan Gu

  2. Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA

    Matthew E. Dupre

Section Editor information

  1. University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA

    Melanie Sereny Brasher

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Cohen, S.A., Greaney, M.L. (2019). Urban-Rural Health Disparities at Older Ages. In: Gu, D., Dupre, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_516-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_516-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69892-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-69892-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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