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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Community engagement and volunteerism

A Quasi-Experimental Study to Mobilize Rural Low-Income Communities to Assess and Improve the Ecological Environment to Prevent Childhood Obesity
Describes a study to be conducted in 14 low-income rural communities in Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, to find best practices to create and sustain healthy eating and physical activity and to prevent childhood obesity.
Author(s): Paula Peters, Abby Gold, Angela Abbott, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 16, 376
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
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Activating Patients for Sustained Chronic Disease Self-Management: Thinking Beyond Clinical Outcomes
Describes the Expanded Health Coaches for Hypertension Control (EHCHC) project to increase the proportion of adults 45 years and older to self-manage their hypertension. Discusses how a primary care practice and a community-based program can work together to improve patient knowledge and support readiness for behavior change through various channels, including the use of trained volunteer community health coaches.
Author(s): Cheryl J. Dye, Joel E. Williams, Janet H. Evatt
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 7(2), 107-112
Date: 04/2016
Type: Document
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Honoring Unsung Heroes in Communities Across America: Building Connections to Forge Solutions
Details the history of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leaders program, which ran from 1992 until 2015, and recognized grassroots leaders who advanced health in underserved communities.
Author(s): Kelsey Menehan, Mary Nakashian
Date: 04/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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Colorectal Cancer Prevention: Perspectives of Key Players from Social Networks in a Low-Income Rural US Region
Reports on a study based on interviews with "key players" within the social networks of rural Appalachian communities of Kentucky and Ohio. Discusses the role these individuals can play in promoting colorectal cancer (CRC) screenings and identifies the perceived barriers to CRC screenings within their communities.
Author(s): Nancy E. Schoenberg, Kathryn Eddens, Adam Jonas, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 11(1), 30396
Date: 02/2016
Type: Document
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An Ethnographic Meta-Synthesis of Three Southwestern Rural Studies
Summarizes the findings from 3 ethnographic, community-partnered studies in rural Colorado and New Mexico. Describes the process of meta-ethnography as a strategy for synthesizing findings.
Author(s): Jennifer B. Averill
Citation: Public Health Nursing, 33(1), 32-41
Date: 01/2016
Type: Document
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Opening Our Doors: Building Strong Sexual Assault Services in Dual and Multi-Service Advocacy Agencies
Guide highlighting 10 high-quality sexual assault service components for dual/multi-service advocacy agencies. Components address organization mission, leadership, oppression, services through the lifespan, long- and short-term needs, training, trauma, and working within communities and systems. Discusses rural throughout.
Date: 2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Resource Sharing Project
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Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities: A Rural Community-Based Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program
Presents the Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities (SHHC) program to address gaps in knowledge and approaches to implement community-level interventions for women living in rural, underserved communities. SHHC aims to reduce cardiovascular disease and related healthcare burden by addressing issues such as diet, physical activity behaviors, the local built environment, and social norms.
Author(s): Rebecca A. Seguin, Galen Eldridge, Meredith L. Graham, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 16, 86
Date: 2016
Type: Document
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Lessons Learned from the MAVEN Project Pilot: Using Physician Volunteers to Increase Access to Care via Telehealth
Describes the evaluation of pilot program of the Medical Alumni Volunteer Expert Network (MAVEN) Project, which used experienced volunteer physicians to provide consults via telehealth to rural and inner-city providers. Pilot program offered telehealth visits at 3 community health centers in Massachusetts and California.
Author(s): Lori Uscher-Pines, Robert S. Rudin
Date: 2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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A Community-Driven Intervention in Tuftonboro, New Hampshire, Succeeds in Altering Water Testing Behavior
Reports on a community-based program coordinating with state-level programs to identify well water contaminants in rural Tuftonboro, New Hampshire. Discusses the different contaminates, their sources, and the potential health effects they cause. Presents research on community engagement and models for community-level interventions.
Author(s): Michael P. Paul, Pierce Rigrod, Steve Wingate, Mark E. Borsuk
Citation: Journal of Environmental Health, 78(5), 30-39
Date: 12/2015
Type: Document
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Coming Full Circle
Profiles Paula Lynch, who was helped by HopeWest Hospice's Mending Hearts adult grief support program after the loss of her son. She now gives back by helping others as she was helped.
Author(s): Kate Menzies
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 05/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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