Central Distributor SEDD: Description of Data Elements

PL_RUCA - Patient location: Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Codes

Documentation Sections:

Rural Urban Commuting Areas (RUCA) are assigned to ZIP Codes using population and commuting information from the Census. They form a classification scheme that distinguishes urban ZIP Codes by population size and characterizes rural ZIP Codes by their population and the strength of their association with larger urban areas. Rural ZIP Codes are differentiated by three factors; the size of their largest urban community, the proportion of that population regularly commuting to larger urban areas, and the size of the urban destinations. RUCA are defined for 1993 ZIP Codes using population and commuting information from the 1990 census.

The 30 categories defined by the full RUCA scheme must generally be aggregated in some manner to avoid excessively small cell sizes. HCUP provides two alternative data elements that have collapsed the RUCAs -- PL_RUCA10 and PL_RUCA4.

The use of ZIP Codes to define RUCA provides greater locational precision than other (county-based) urban-rural schemes available for the HCUP data, However, county-based measures will better maintain their accuracy over time because of the greater frequency with which ZIP Codes are added and their boundaries change. RUCA precision degrades most quickly in regions of high population growth where many new ZIP Codes may be created, because RUCA categories are not defined for new ZIP Codes.

RUCA were developed by collaboration between the U.S. Health Resources and Service Administration's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, the Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, and the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, & Idaho (WWAMI) Rural Health Research Center. Additional information about this classification scheme is available on the Internet at http://depts.washington.edu/uwruca/ruca1/rucas.html. For many analyses, a smaller number of categories than those provided by the full RUCA may be more appropriate. Suggested alternatives for collapsing the RUCA are provided at http://depts.washington.edu/uwruca/ruca1/use_healthcare.html.

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Uniform Values

Variable	Description	Value	Value Description
PL_RUCA	Patient location: Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Codes	1.0	Metropolitan-area core: primary flow within an Urbanized Area (UA)
		1.1	Metropolitan-area core: primary flow within an UA, secondary flow 30-50% to larger UA
		2.0	Metropolitan-area high commuting: primary flow 30% or more to a UA
		2.1	Metropolitan-area high commuting: primary flow 30% or more to a UA, secondary flow 30-50% to larger UA
		2.2	Metropolitan-area high commuting: primary flow 30% or more to a UA, combined flows to two or more UAs 30% or more and greater than primary flow
		3.0	Metropolitan-area low commuting: primary flow 5-30% to a UA
		4.0	Large town core: primary flow within a place of 10,000 to 49,999
		4.1	Large town core: primary flow within a place of 10,000 to 49,999; secondary flow 30% to 50% to a UA
		5.0	Large town high commuting: primary flow 30% or more to a place of 10,000 to 49,999, primary flow to a 4.0 large town
		5.1	Large town high commuting: primary flow 30% or more to a place of 10,000 to 49,999, primary flow to a 4.1 large town
		6.0	Large town low commuting: primary flow 5% to 30% to a place of 10,000 to 49,999
		7.0	Small town core: primary flow within a place of 2,500 to 9,999
		7.1	Small town core: primary flow within a place of 2,500 to 9,999, secondary flow 30% to 50% to a UA
		7.2	Small town core: primary flow within a place of 2,500 to 9,999, secondary flow 30% to 50% to a large town
		7.3	Small town core: primary flow within a place of 2,500 to 9,999, secondary flow 5% to 30% to a UA
		7.4	Small town core: primary flow within a place of 2,500 to 9,999, secondary flow 5% to 30% to a large town
		8.0	Small town high commuting: primary flow 30% or more to a place of 2,500 to 9,999, primary flow to a 7.0 small town
		8.1	Small town high commuting: primary flow 30% or more to a place of 2,500 to 9,999, primary flow to a 7.1 small town
		8.2	Small town high commuting: primary flow 30% or more to a place of 2,500 to 9,999, primary flow to a 7.2 small town
		8.3	Small town high commuting: primary flow 30% or more to a place of 2,500 to 9,999, primary flow to a 7.3 small town
		8.4	Small town high commuting: primary flow 30% or more to a place of 2,500 to 9,999, primary flow to a 7.4 small town
		9.0	Small town low commuting: primary flow 5% to 30% to a place of 2,500 to 9,999
		9.1	Small town low commuting: primary flow 5% to 30% to a place of 2,500 to 9,999, secondary flow 5% to 30% to a UA
		9.2	Small town low commuting: primary flow 5% to 30% to a place of 2,500 to 9,999, secondary flow 5% to 30% to a large town
		10.0	Rural areas: primary flow to a tract without a place of 2,500 or more
		10.1	Rural areas: primary flow to a tract without a place of 2,500 or more, secondary flow 30% to 50% to a UA
		10.2	Rural areas: primary flow to a tract without a place of 2,500 or more, secondary flow 30% to 50% to a large town
		10.3	Rural areas: primary flow to a tract without a place of 2,500 or more, secondary flow 30% to 50% to a small town
		10.4	Rural areas: primary flow to a tract without a place of 2,500 or more, secondary flow 5% to 30% to a UA
		10.5	Rural areas: primary flow to a tract without a place of 2,500 or more, secondary flow 5% to 30% to a large town
		.	Missing

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State Specific Notes

None

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Central Distributor SEDD: Description of Data Elements