Rural Injuries
Rural Injuries and violence
Rural injuries and violence are understudied in public health and present unique opportunities for research.
Rural living is known for things like close communities and pretty landscapes, but it also comes with some injury risks:
- Geographical isolation
- High-risk farming activities and industries
- Gravel roads and two-lane roads with no shoulders
- Long distances to social and preventative services
- Farther distances to hospitals
- Shortages of mental health care services
- Having unsecured firearms in the home
- High poverty levels/ widespread unemployment
60% of U.S. counties are classified as completely rural or mostly rural. In rural America, death rates are higher from motor vehicle crashes, suicide, drug overdoses, burns, drownings, and traumatic brain injury compared to urban areas, and for some of these, rates have been increasing disproportionately by race/ethnicity, gender, occupation, veteran status, and age.
Diversity and disparities in rural communities
There can be considerable diversity in rural communities, including demographic, social, economic, and health system characteristics. Rural communities in the U.S. have historically included Native and Black populations, along with white populations, and are increasingly becoming more racially and ethnically diverse with a large growth of Latinx populations in recent decades. Racial/ethnic disparities in injury and violence are also observed in rural communities.
We examine many facets of the socioeconomic, political, and cultural environments that contribute to rural/urban disparities in injury and violence rates. We consider “rural” to be a context, a social determinant of health, and a culture, not simply a geographic location.
Our work
Our unique location in the middle of America influences our work. Iowa includes the spectrum of isolated rural to medium-sized cities. Since its establishment in 1991, the UI IPRC has contributed to the nation’s understanding of rural injury and violence including:
- Farmer suicide
- Firearm storage practices
- Child passenger safety
- Farm vehicle safety
- Teen dating violence
- Trauma care
- ATV safety
- Opioid overdose deaths
- Interventions for rural populations related trauma-informed care for children; opioid prescribing; teen driving; burn recovery; suicidal ideation; adolescent bullying; older adult falls prevention; and older adult disaster preparedness
Our blog posts
- What is “rural” in IVP research?
- The rural effect on injuries
- Stricter lighting & markings may reduce farm crashes
- Rural injuries and violence at home during COVID-19
- Helping vulnerable rural residents prepare for disasters
- A spotlight on rural child injuries
- Staying safe on the farm
- Safer storage of guns to prevent child injuries and death
- ATV safety & youth: Q & A with Dr. Jennissen
- Disparities in youth suicide
- Car crashes: When teens are at fault
- UI Csomay Center: Improving safety for older Iowans
Media
- Trauma care for injured farmers often delayed by almost an hour compared with other rural workers: study
- University of Iowa researchers say many farming-related injuries are underreported
- Tractor simulator studies farm safety
- 100 miles from the nearest shelter: the story of domestic violence in rural Iowa
- Long after 80’s farm crisis, farm workers still take their own lives at high rate
- The Daily Yonder (article on rural domestic violence)
Outreach
- 2020 report: Policy and Program Recommendations to Reduce Overdose Deaths in Rural Iowa
- Transportation & rural road safety: A summary of our work
- Improving trauma care & saving lives in Iowa
- Agricultural safety: A summary of our work
- We partner with the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health and Iowa’s Center for Agricultural Safety and Health.
New research
- Naloxone analogy and opioid overdose terminology preferences among rural caregivers: Differences by race
- Rural-age friendly ecosystems for older adults: An international scoping review with recommendations to support age-friendly communities
- Organizational Resources and Social Support Influences on Stress and Depression: A Comparison among Cooperative and Non-Cooperative Farmers.
- Virtual Partnership Addressing Mental Health Crises: Mixed Methods Study of a Coresponder Program in Rural Law Enforcement
- Virtual Partnership Addressing Mental Health Crises: Mixed Methods Study of a Coresponder Program in Rural Law Enforcement
- Surgical stabilization of critical abdominal injuries in a mature rural trauma system: A retrospective study
- Resource: Data Sources for Firearms Research
- Farm equipment crashes on public roads: Results from a survey of Midwest farmers
- Community engagement in the development and implementation of a rural road safety campaign: Steps and lessons learned
- Trends in pediatric passenger restraint use by rurality and age in Iowa, 2006-2019
- Rural youth’s exposure to firearm violence and their attitudes regarding firearm safety measures
- Firearm exposure and storage practices in the homes of rural adolescents
- Emergency psychiatric assessment, treatment, and healing (EmPATH) unit decreases hospital admission for patients presenting with suicidal ideation in rural America
- Influential factors in the recovery process of burn survivors in a predominately rural state
- Reimagining rural: Shifting paradigms about health and well-being in the rural United States
- Farm vehicle crashes on public roads: Analysis of farm-level factors
- Managing innovation: a qualitative study on the implementation of telehealth services in rural emergency departments
- Influential Factors in the Recovery Process of Burn Survivors in a Predominately Rural State: A Qualitative Study
- Association of Rural and Critical Access Hospital Status With Patient Outcomes After Emergency Department Visits Among Medicare Beneficiaries
- Autonomous Shuttle Operating on Highways and Gravel Roads in Rural America: A Demonstration Study
- Assessing the relationship between domestic work experience and musculoskeletal health among rural Nigerian women
- Surgical stabilization of critical abdominal injuries in a mature rural trauma system: A retrospective study
- Development of a Checklist to Identify Injury Hazards on Row Crop Farms in the Midwestern United States
Training
We include rural content in our courses at the UI College of Public Health including rural injury surveillance, motor vehicle crashes, suicide prevention, and violence prevention. Learn about our curriculum.