Skip to main content

Table 2 Description of purpose, types of factors included, and unit of analysis of rurality indices

From: Systematic scoping review of factors and measures of rurality: toward the development of a rurality index for health care research in Japan

Author and publication year Name of the index Purpose of the index (for general purpose or health care policy and research) Types of variables: continuous or categorical Unit of analysis How to decide the included factors
Department of Primary Industries and Energy, Department of Human Services and Health, 1994 [24] Rural, remote and metropolitan area (RRMA) for general purpose categorical geographical jurisdiction: Statistical Local Area consensus of a working group
Weinert et al., 1995 [25] MSU rurality index for health care policy and research continuous individual literature review and availability of the data
Leduc, 1997 [26] General Practice Rurality Index (GPRI) for health care policy and research continuous health care institution: general practice literature review
Department of Health and Aged Care, 2001 [27] Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) for general purpose continuous geographical jurisdiction: populated location GIS network analysis
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Canberra, 2004 [28] Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) for general purpose continuous geographical jurisdiction: Statistical Local Area An enhanced measure of previous remoteness index, ARIA+
Swan et al., 2008 [29] Clinical peripherality indicator for health care policy and research continuous health care institution: general practice factor analysis
Kralj, 2008 [11] Rurality Index for Ontario (RIO) for health care policy and research continuous geographical jurisdiction: community principal component analysis, maximum likelihood method
McGrail et al., 2009 [30] Index of Rural Access for health care policy and research continuous geographical jurisdiction: collection district modified two-step floating catchment area method
Han et al., 2012 [31] Rural PHCWA index for health care policy and research continuous geographical jurisdiction: county literature review
Humphreys et al., 2012 [13] six-level geographical classification for health care policy and research categorical geographical jurisdiction: city Geo-coded data and the previous study
Steinhaeuser et al., 2014 [32] modified RRS-Germany (mRRS-G) for health care policy and research continuous health care institution: general practice translation and adaptation of the previous rurality index, RRS
Mao et al., 2015 [33] Individual-based rurality and well-being measures for health care policy and research continuous individual active space approach
Zhu et al., 2015 [34] Rural taxonomy for health care policy and research categorical geographical jurisdiction: primary care service area cluster analysis
Inagami et al., 2016 [35] IRR zip for health care policy and research continuous geographical jurisdiction: zip-code level modification of the previous rurality index, Index of Relative Rurality
Alasia et al., 2017 [36] index of remoteness for general purpose continuous geographical jurisdiction: census subdivision gravity model
Calovi et al., 2018 [37] spatial accessibility index for health care policy and research continuous geographical jurisdiction: municipality two-step floating catchment area method
Doogan et al., 2018 [38] Isolation scale for health care policy and research continuous geographical jurisdiction: census tract literature review
Back to article page

BMC Health Services Research

ISSN: 1472-6963

Contact us