Each data sheet in this inventory describes the main characteristics and assesses whether the data from each data source is collected, analyzable, and/or released at appropriate geographical levels for rural health research. Essentially, it identifies whether the data can be partitioned into rural and urban, or finer geographical categories. Each data sheet uses a common framework that identifies such information as:
- lowest level of geography for data collection and data release
- existing rural/urban flags and how they may be theoretically constructed
- potential problems in using data
Given our understanding of rural, an effort has been made to highlight the standard report geography used for each data source, as well as the smallest theoretical geographic level of release.
