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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Environmental health

A Tribal Citizen Science Project Benefits Drinking Water Quality and Builds Local Capacity
Discusses a participatory project to improve drinking water quality in rural Maine, including a partnership between researchers and the Passamaquoddy Tribal government. Describes efforts to build trust and conduct community-engaged research.
Citation: Partnerships for Environmental Public Health Newsletter, 12(5)
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
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Exploring the Intersection of Rural Housing Quality and Health: Healthcare Providers and Housing Experts Provide Insight
Focuses on rural housing quality as a social determinant of health. Describes how healthcare, housing, and public health organizations can work together to address housing issues and improve population health. Features a Vermont healthcare system and several national programs working to address rural housing quality.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Extreme Weather Events - Perspectives & Safety Impacts in Agriculture
Highlights the experiences of agricultural workers and employers on the effect of extreme weather on the health and wellness of agricultural workers. Discusses the challenges and precautions of working in extreme heat, dust, and wildfires, among other elements.
Date: 03/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety
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Mapping Climate Risks by County and Community
Features maps depicting county-level data on various climate risks, including sea level rise, exposure to hurricanes and typhoons, extreme rainfall, and water and heat stress. Describes climate concerns facing rural communities, including Appalachia, Native American lands, and others. Discusses how heat stress can affect health.
Author(s): Ari Pinkus
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Communities Project
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Quality Water from Every Tap: Proceedings of a Workshop - in Brief
Summarizes topics covered at a workshop held November 21-22, 2019, including discussion on water quality challenges and suggestions for improvement. Focuses on areas that may lack sufficient resources, such as rural and tribal communities.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Division on Earth and Life Studies
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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2021 Rural Border Health Chartbook
Presents statistics on health indicators and social determinants of health in the U.S.-Mexico Border region, offering rural/urban comparisons, comparing self-reported Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic ethnicity, and examining proximity to the border. Covers access to care, use of preventive health services, health-related behaviors, COVID-19, mortality, and American Indian health.
Author(s): Elizabeth Crouch, Rachel Davis, Jan M. Eberth, et al.
Date: 2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Association, Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Share Public Health: Rural Health
Podcast series discussing rural life, employment, and health. Topics include successful communities, food systems, public health departments in rural counties, health care delivery in their rural communities, and workplace safety, among others.
Date: 2021
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Midwestern Public Health Training Center
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Water Safety in California Public Schools Following Implementation of School Drinking Water Policies
Study examining results from a California testing program created to detect lead in charter and public school drinking water. Analyzes factors associated with access to safe drinking water, including differences between rural and urban schools. Features data and statistics indicating whether school water systems were compliant with health standards and whether school drinking water was tested for lead.
Author(s): Isioma L. Umunna, Lauren S. Blacker, Christina E. Hecht, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 17
Date: 12/2020
Type: Document
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Establishing a Community Air Monitoring Network in a Wildfire Smoke-Prone Rural Community: The Motivations, Experiences, Challenges, and Ideas of Clean Air Methow's Clean Air Ambassadors
Results of an analysis of interviews with volunteers who placed low-cost sensors in their homes or workplaces as part of a wildfire smoke-related community air monitoring project in Methow Valley, a rural community in northeastern Washington. Explores motivations for participation, project challenges, and future project ideas.
Author(s): Amanda Durkin, Rico Gonzalez, Tania Busch Isaksen, Elizabeth Walker, Nicole A. Errett
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(22), 8393
Date: 11/2020
Type: Document
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Puerto Rico Electricity: FEMA and HUD Have Not Approved Long-Term Projects and Need to Implement Recommendations to Address Uncertainties and Enhance Resilience
Report evaluates the response by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to the damage to Puerto Rico's infrastructure in the three years since hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria hit the island. Bases evaluation on the agencies' response to previous recommendations made by GAO. Discusses the current state of Puerto Rico's electrical grid across the island, including in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 11/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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