Rural heat health disparities: Evidence from the U.S. national emergency medical services information system (NEMSIS)

Using the National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) data from 2021 to 2023, this study compares heat-related illness (HRI) in urban and rural areas of the U.S. The study found the odds of EMS events in an urban area resulting with a positive outcome for the patient was 1.24 times that of EMS events in rural areas.

This urban-rural disparity was not equal across regions with the odds of EMS events to rural areas of the Western U.S. resulting with a positive outcome for the patient was 54 % less than that for urban areas. This critical evidence of a rural-urban heat health disparity calls attention to the impact of climate change-fueled heat impacts on health in communities of all sizes, and a need for more rural heat resilience research to inform practice.