Rural residents were more likely than their urban counterparts to suffer financial setbacks because of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report that will be part of congressional briefing produced by the Population Association of America.
The online briefing on demographic trends in rural America is scheduled for noon Eastern, Friday, March 18. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
Rural residents were more likely than urban residents to report losing a job, working fewer hours, and being late with payments of rent, mortgage, and other bills, according to a brief written by Shannon M. Monnat, an associate professor at Syracuse University and director of the university’s Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion.
The findings are based on a national survey of nearly 4,000 working-age adults conducted in early 2021.
The survey also found that rural respondents were more likely to have tested positive for Covid-19, live with someone who tested positive, or have a close friend or family member outside their household who tested positive. Rural residents were also more likely to have a family member who was hospitalized for Covid-19.
Rural and urban respondents had similar responses to questions about how Covid-19 had affected their physical health. But rural residents were more likely to have sought treatment for anxiety or depression because of the pandemic.
Other scholars who will be part of the briefing are the following:
- Dr. Kenneth Johnson, University of New Hampshire
- Dr. Mildred Warner, Cornell University
- Dr. Leif Jensen, Pennsylvania State University
- Dr. John Green, Southern Rural Development Center
- Dr. Timothy Slack, Louisiana State University
- Dr. Jessica Ulrich-Schad, Utah State University
Marta Tienda of Princeton University will moderate the panel.
The page announcing the congressional briefing includes links to eight short reports from the presenters. The reports are published through the Rural Population Research Network, a multi-state project supported by USDA that is examining demographic change in rural America.
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