Rural Project Examples Addressing Health conditions

Added February 2026

Need: To improve hypertension in rural Iowa patients.
Intervention: Promise Community Health Center offers team-based care to help patients manage hypertension.
Results: The center increased its hypertension control rate from 73% in 2022 to 84% in 2024.

Updated/reviewed February 2026

Need: To educate people in rural Virginia who either have diabetes or are considered at high risk for developing it.
Intervention: Teleconferencing technology is used to offer diabetes education programs to people with diabetes or those at high risk for developing it. Health professionals are also indirectly trained in diabetes care and management.
Results: Participants reported better prevention practices and/or self-management of diabetes after being thoroughly educated about this condition.

Updated/reviewed January 2026

Need: Rural cancer survivors report lower levels of physical activity and higher rates of psychosocial distress compared to their urban counterparts.
Intervention: Researchers collaborated with a rural-serving organization in northeast Texas to test a 3-month intervention which enhanced an existing exercise program with behavioral health education, yoga, and home-based exercise components.
Results: Program participants were twice as likely to report meeting physical activity recommendations at post-intervention than participants in a control group and reported significant reductions in psychosocial distress.

Updated/reviewed December 2025

Need: To reduce stigma around mental illness and substance use in North Carolina.
Intervention: The Beaufort County Behavioral Health Task Force created the Riverfront Talks: Substance Matters podcast to interview people with lived experience.
Results: As of December 2025, the podcast has 18 episodes.

Updated/reviewed November 2025

Need: To support pregnant and parenting women with a history of substance use, mental health, or co-occurring disorders in rural areas of Montana.
Intervention: One Health, a consortium of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), developed a team of "recovery doulas" – individuals who are dual-certified as doulas and peer-support specialists. The One Health recovery doula program offers group and individual services to women and their partners from pregnancy through the first years of parenthood.
Results: A team of four recovery doulas (or doulas-in-training) employed by One Health offer services in 8 rural eastern Montana counties. One Health has also successfully trained and certified 35 Peer Recovery Doulas statewide through their Peer Recovery Doula certification curriculum.

Updated/reviewed October 2025

Need: To reduce risk of obesity and chronic disease in rural northwest Illinois.
Intervention: Win With Wellness (WWW) collaborated with community organizations and worksites to improve physical activity and eating behaviors and reduce weight among adults using a multi-component approach.
Results: From 2015 to 2018, the two participating counties initiated 28 Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) groups with 367 participants. In the second round of funding, WWW recruited 183 participants for 9 TOPS groups and 8 community Heart-to-Heart sites.

Updated/reviewed September 2025

Need: To provide accessible and affordable services to address the challenges associated with aging, serious illness, and grief across rural western Colorado.
Intervention: A nonprofit, community-sustained healthcare model was created to provide the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), dementia support, hospice care and palliative care, as well as grief support services for individuals of all ages.
Results: Since 1993, HopeWest has grown to serve more than 3,000 patients and families annually across five counties in western Colorado.

Updated/reviewed August 2025

Need: To educate rural community members about Alzheimer's disease and other dementias and to support older adults with dementia and caregivers in need.
Intervention: A community group formed in Winnemucca, Nevada, to discuss topics like health, housing, social events, community improvement, education, and transportation for older adults. The group also provides outreach to older adults, caregiver support, and a variety of educational activities and events.
Results: The group's efforts have led to many changes for community welfare and safety as well as opportunities for education and activities.

Updated/reviewed August 2025

Need: Organized focus on COPD patients' medical needs to decrease hospital readmissions in a rural Ohio healthcare system.
Intervention: Creation of an integrated system model with nurse navigators central to evidence-based chronic disease care management approaches to COPD care.
Results: Since its creation in 2014, the model continues to mature its comprehensive approach to provide optimized acute and chronic care for the area's COPD patients.

Updated/reviewed June 2025

Need: Teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and mental health challenges in adolescent girls were concerns for members of Union Parish, Louisiana.
Intervention: Union General Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital, created the program It's a Girl Thing: Making Proud Choices to teach prevention, self-confidence, personal responsibility, and mental well-being to teen girls.
Results: Teen pregnancy rates in Union Parish have dropped by more than 40% since the start of the program, significantly exceeding the program's initial goal of 5%. Graduation rates have also increased. The addition of Together We Can Be Bully Free as an integral part of It's a Girl Thing has further expanded mental health support for participants.

Rural Project Examples: Health conditions