Mortality in Rural and Urban Emergency and Trauma Care in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: Rural hospitals in the United States have fewer specialists, fewer critical care resources, and longer transport distances than urban hospitals, yet national studies disagree on whether rural patients are more likely to die after emergency care. The goal of this study was to determine whether short-term mortality differs between rural and urban patients receiving emergency or trauma care and to estimate the size of the difference. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in line with PRISMA 2020. PubMed was searched on October 11, 2026, for studies publis

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