Has COVID‐19 made rural areas more attractive places to live? Survey evidence from Northwest Missouri

COVID‐19 disruptions encouraged some rural regions to think about proactively attracting newly footloose residents—but would the pandemic make rural areas seem more attractive to potential return migrants? Using econometric analysis of survey data, we find that for natives who had left the study region, attitudes about living in rural areas during COVID were lower on average than for those who stayed. Interestingly, we do find that owning a business and having a stronger sense of belonging are both associated with positive attitudinal shifts towards rural living, which has practical implications for rural migration policy.Alternate :Las perturbaciones de COVID‐19 animaron a algunas regiones rurales a pensar en atraer de forma proactiva a los nuevos residentes sin rumbo, pero ¿haría la pandemia que las zonas rurales parecieran más atractivas para el posible retorno de emigrantes? Mediante un análisis econométrico de los datos de la encuesta, se comprobó que para los nativos que habían abandonado la región de estudio, las actitudes sobre la vida en las zonas rurales durante el COVID eran más bajas por término medio que para quienes se quedaron. Resulta interesante comprobar que el hecho de poseer un negocio y tener un mayor sentido de pertenencia están asociados a cambios de actitud positivos hacia la vida rural, lo que tiene implicaciones prácticas para la política de migración rural.Alternate :抄録コロナディスラプションの大きな影響により、一部の農村地域は、気ままに移住できる住民 (footloose resident)を新たに積極的に呼び込むことを検討したが、パンデミックによって、移住を希望する人々に対する農村地域の魅力が増えることがあるだろうか。調査データの計量経済学的分析から、研究の対象地域を離れた現地出身者は、コロナ禍に農村地域で生活することに関して、現地に留まる人よりも、平均して意識が低いことが分かった。興味深いことに、自分で事業をしていることと、より強い帰属意識を持っていることの両方が、農村部の生活に対する前向きな意識と関連しており、これが、農村部への移住政策の実際的な意義であることがわかる。

Evaluating the impact of broadband access and internet use in a small underserved rural community.

Having adequate access to the internet at home enhances quality-of-life for households and facilitates economic and social opportunities. Despite increased investment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of households in the rural United States still lack adequate access to high-speed internet. In this study, we evaluate a wireless broadband network deployed in Turney, a small, underserved rural community in northwest Missouri. In addition to collecting survey data before and after this internet intervention, we collected pre-treatment and post-treatment survey data from comparison communities to serve as a control group. Due to technical constraints, some of Turney's interested participants could not connect to the network, creating an additional comparison group. These comparisons suggest two primary findings, (1) changes in using the internet for employment, education, and health could not be directly attributed to the internet intervention, and (2) the internet intervention was associated with benefits stemming from the ability to use multiple devices at once. This study has implications for the design of future broadband evaluation studies, particularly those examining underserved rather than unserved communities. Recommendations for identifying appropriate outcome variables, executing recruitment strategies, and selecting the timing of surveys are made.

Has COVID‐19 made rural areas more attractive places to live? Survey evidence from Northwest Missouri

COVID‐19 disruptions encouraged some rural regions to think about proactively attracting newly footloose residents—but would the pandemic make rural areas seem more attractive to potential return migrants? Using econometric analysis of survey data, we find that for natives who had left the study region, attitudes about living in rural areas during COVID were lower on average than for those who stayed. Interestingly, we do find that owning a business and having a stronger sense of belonging are both associated with positive attitudinal shifts towards rural living, which has practical implications for rural migration policy.

Broadband adoption and availability: Impacts on rural employment during COVID-19.

Amidst COVID-19-related stay-at-home orders, the economy moved largely online and broadband internet became more important than ever. This paper explores the relationship between broadband and employment rates during April and May 2020 in rural U.S. counties. We use two broadband dimensions: infrastructure availability rates and household adoption rates. We use a two-stage least squares approach to address endogeneity and control for socioeconomic, demographic, and pandemic-related factors. Results show broadband availability and wired broadband adoption both had significant, positive impacts on the employment rate. Our findings suggest both broadband adoption and availability may be associated with economic benefits in rural America.

Multisystem effects of COVID-19: a concise review for practitioners.

While COVID-19 has primarily been characterized by the respiratory impact of viral pneumonia, it affects every organ system and carries a high consequent risk of death in critically ill patients. Higher sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores have been associated with increased mortality in patients critically ill patients with COVID-19. It is important that clinicians managing critically ill COVID-19 patients be aware of the multisystem impact of the disease so that care can be focused on the prevention of end-organ injuries to potentially improve clinical outcomes. We review the multisystem complications of COVID-19 and associated treatment strategies to improve the care of critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Ultrasound Teleguidance to Reduce Healthcare Worker Exposure to Coronavirus Disease 2019.

The global spread of coronavirus disease 2019 has accelerated the adoption of technologies that facilitate patient care while reducing viral spread. We illustrate a proof of concept application of teleguidance to ultrasound-guided bedside procedures as an example of an innovative solution that has been used at our institution to maximize patient and provider safety.