This website is being reviewed for updates. Some information is offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Community and faith-based initiatives

Partnering for Progress: Enhancing Mental Health Crisis Response in Rural North Carolina Through Faith-based Training
Discusses strategies for rural communities to enhance mental health crisis response by partnering with and training local organizations. Explores several programs providing faith-based mental health training to rural clergy in North Carolina. Compares data for rural Rockingham County to the state as a whole.
Author(s): Sarah Grenon, Mallory Bejster, Marty Roberts, et al.
Citation: Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 19(3), 317-325
Date: 09/2025
view details
2024-2025 Alabama AHEC Annual Report
Reports on activities in 2024-2025, with sections on the Alabama AHEC Scholars Program, pathway programs, webinars, community health workers, community events, tax incentives, community-based training, and continuing education. Mentions rural throughout.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Alabama AHEC Network
view details
Study Protocol of Sustaining Home Palliative Care for Patients with Heart Failure (Hf) and Their Family Caregivers in Rural Appalachia: A Mixed Methods Randomized Clinical Trial
Study protocol to examine an integrated nurse-led intervention bundle for patients with heart failure and their family caregivers regarding home supportive end-of-live palliative care in rural West Virginia. Discusses the assessment of the intervention's sustainability with rural stakeholders, visiting volunteers, and the West Virginia Faith Community Nurse Network.
Author(s): Ubolrat Piamjariyakul,Stephanie Young, Angel Smothers, et al.
Citation: BMC Palliative Care, 24(1)
Date: 03/2025
view details
Developing an Intergroup Dialogue Curriculum to Improve Mental Health System Capacity for Farmers and Agricultural Communities
Describes the development of an intergroup dialogue curriculum between faith leaders and rural behavioral health providers to promote increased participation by agricultural communities in the behavioral healthcare system. Discusses next steps to pilot-test the curriculum in rural and agricultural communities.
Author(s): Annie J. Keeney, Morgan Valley, Cheryl Beseler, Lorann Stallones
Citation: Journal of Agromedicine, 30(3), 430-435
Date: 02/2025
view details
Assessing the Needs of Rural Families Affected by the Opioid Crisis: Issue Brief and Recommendations to the Secretary
Explores the considerations for addressing social determinants of health that influence opioid use disorder (OUD) and the role of community efforts in prevention, treatment, and recovery in rural areas, with a focus on prevention efforts in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Discusses youth and family prevention and well-being; stigma; adverse childhood experience; school-based health centers and youth and family resource centers; access to stable housing, food, and other social supports; the importance of trusted community resources for support; and workforce. Offers recommendations related to reducing stigma and promoting the enhanced utilization of the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) to help rural communities address OUD and substance use disorders.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
view details
Factors Influencing Evidence-Based Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Programming in Rural African American Communities: A Community-Engaged Concept Mapping Study
Analyzes perspectives on evidence-based cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and management programs, utilizing a group concept mapping (GCM) approach with input from 31 community-based, faith, and healthcare organizations serving African Americans in rural North Carolina.
Author(s): Amelia DeFosset, Breanna Deutsch-Williams, Mysha Wynn, et al.
Citation: Implementation Science Communications, 6, 11
Date: 01/2025
view details
Rural-Urban Differences in PACE Organization and Enrollee Characteristics
Compares differences between rural and urban Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and their enrollees. Presents data on enrollment, eligibility, length of time in PACE, age, and sex.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Mariana Tuttle, Ingrid Jacobson, Madeleine Pick, Julia Interrante
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details
Indian Health Service Program Evaluation Services: Community Opioid Intervention Pilot Projects Aggregate Report 2021-2024
Report evaluates the Indian Health Service's Community Opioid Intervention Pilot Project aimed at addressing opioid use disorder in tribal communities. Collects and evaluates data from grantees after the program's first three years, April 1, 2021-March 31, 2024. Explores grantees' progress in building organizational capacity, community and educational events, and professional trainings, among other measures.
Additional links: Infographic
Date: 2025
Sponsoring organization: Indian Health Service
view details
Facilitators and Barriers to Implementing the Diabetes Prevention Program in Rural Church Settings: A Qualitative Study Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research
Analyzes the effectiveness of implementing a Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) in a rural church setting in Georgia. Utilizes feedback from interviews with church leaders and lifestyle coaches to discuss facilitators, such as academic partnerships and evidence-based programming, as well as barriers, such as transportation, childcare issues, prohibitive health problems, and more.
Author(s): Smita Rawal, Caleb A. Snead, Frantz D. Soiro, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(2)
Date: 2025
view details
South Dakota Department of Health 2024 Annual Report
Describes activities and accomplishments of the South Dakota Department of Health in 2024. Includes sections on public health preparedness and response, rural health, emergency medical services, health information technology, family and community health, and licensure and accreditation.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: South Dakota Department of Health
view details