Obesity disproportionately affects rural populations; however, there is limited research examining disparities in bariatric surgery outcomes between patients from rural versus urban areas. This study aimed to compare the demographic characteristics of patients undergoing bariatric surgery from rural versus urban bariatric areas and to explore differences in weight-loss outcomes between these groups. A retrospective chart review identified a sample of 170 patients (52 rural, 118 urban) who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or vertical sleeve gastrectomy procedures over a 1-year period. Data collected included age, race, gender, insurance status, surgery type, height, and pre-and postoperative weights at 3 and 6 months.Significant differences in race, ethnicity, and surgery type were observed between rural/urban patients (ps < 0.05). Patients from rural areas demonstrated significantly greater percent total weight losses at 3 months (p = 0.018; however, there were no significant differences between groups at 6 months (p > 0.05). The results suggest that patients from rural counties experience postoperative weight-loss outcomes comparable to those of their urban counterparts. K E Y W O R D Sbariatric surgery, health disparities, obesity, rural/urban | INTRODUCTIONAdults living in rural areas in the United States are disproportionately affected by obesity; as of 2016, the estimates show obesity prevalence of 43.1% of adults in non-metropolitan statistical areas compared to 35.1% in large metropolitan statistical areas. 1 Higher obesity prevalence among adults from rural areas contributes to the higher rates of chronic disease and mortality and poorer overall health and quality of life observed in rural versus urban areas. 2 Given these significant disparities, there is an urgent need for increased access to, and dissemination of, evidence-based obesity treatments in rural communities. Bariatric surgery is recognized as one of the most effective interventions for substantial weight loss among patients with moderate to severe obesity 3 ; however, eligible residents of rural areas are 23% less likely to undergo bariatric surgery than urban counterparts. 4 Further, there is a paucity of research evaluating bariatric surgery outcomes among patients living in rural communities. One study conducted by Bergmann and colleagues 5 found that rural status significantly predicted bariatric surgery completion among adults evaluated in a large university hospital in West Virginia; however, the authors noted that this finding was confounded by insurance type, given that patients from rural areas were more likely to be denied access to surgery based on their insurance payer (specifically,

The purpose of this study was to discover unique aspects of caring for adult trauma intensive care unit patients with respect to implementing patient-centered care. The concept of patient-centered care has been discussed since 2000, but the actual implementation is currently becoming the focus of health care. The Institute of Medicine defined patient-centered care as "providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions" in the 2001 Crossing the Quality Chasm report. Discussion and documentation of patient centered-care of the intensive care trauma patient population are limited and yield no results for publication search. This article explores the concept of delivering patient-centered care specifically in a trauma adult intensive care unit.