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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Environmental health

Sources and Perceptions of Indoor and Ambient Air Pollution in Rural Alaska
Identifies indoor and outdoor air pollution issues and areas of concern for the Yukon-Kuskokwim and Ahtna regions of Alaska. Includes demographics and primary and secondary home heating practices for both regions.
Author(s): Desirae Ware, Johnnye Lewis, Scarlett Hopkins, et al.
Citation: Journal of Community Health, 38(4), 773-780
Date: 08/2013
Type: Document
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Spatial Disparities in the Distribution of Parks and Green Spaces in the USA
Examines access to parks and green spaces by income, rurality, and race/ethnicity. Table 1 provides data on parks, green space, and several sociodemographic factors with a rural and urban breakdown.
Author(s): Ming Wen, Xingyou Zhang, Carmen D. Harris, James B. Holt, Janet B. Croft
Citation: Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 45(Suppl 1), 18-27
Date: 02/2013
Type: Document
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Association of the Built Environment with Physical Activity and Adiposity in Rural and Urban Youth
Examines if differences exist for body mass index (BMI) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) between rural and urban youth. Determines if perceived and objective measures of environmental supports for physical activity have a difference in correlation with BMI and MVPA in rural and urban youth. Includes environmental characteristic data by BMI and MVPA.
Author(s): Justine B. Moore, Jason Brinkley, Thomas W. Crawford, Kelly R. Evenson, Ross C. Brownson
Citation: Preventive Medicine, 56(2), 145-148
Date: 02/2013
Type: Document
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Creating Equitable, Healthy, and Sustainable Communities: Strategies for Advancing Smart Growth, Environmental Justice, and Equitable Development
Identifies strategies that tribal areas, rural communities, suburbs and cities can use to build healthy, sustainable, and inclusive communities. Strategies involve culture, public health, infrastructure, economics, housing, transportation, and schools.
Author(s): Megan McConville, Heather Case, Susan Conbere, et al.
Date: 02/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Nutritional Status and Socio-Ecological Factors Associated with Overweight/Obesity at a Rural-Serving US-Mexico Border University
Examines the prevalence of obesity and the environmental factors associated with promoting weight gain and not being conducive to weight loss at a U.S.–Mexico border university serving rural populations.
Author(s): Susan Wilson, Amanda Gallivan, Cindy Kratzke, Anup Amatya
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 12(4), 2228
Date: 11/2012
Type: Document
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Childhood Asthma in Rural-Urban Areas
Examines how asthma may be related to rural areas adjacent or non-adjacent to larger population centers, to variation in measures of air quality, to varying levels of agricultural and animal production, and to other characteristics such as obesity, race/ethnicity, or health insurance.
Additional links: Policy Brief
Author(s): Michael Hendryx, Matthew Gurka, Melissa Ahern, Heidi Putman
Date: 05/2012
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
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Exploring Geographic Variation in Lung Cancer Incidence in Kentucky Using a Spatial Scan Statistic: Elevated Risk in the Appalachian Coal-Mining Region
Discusses mining-related environmental factors which may contribute to high rates of lung cancer in 30 Kentucky counties. Includes breakdowns by sex, age group, smoking history, county-level lung cancer rates from 1995-2007, and coal production rates from 1983-2007.
Author(s): W. Jay Christian, Bin Huang, John Rinehart, Claudia Hopenhayn
Citation: Public Health Reports, 126(6)
Date: 11/2011
Type: Document
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Environmental Workforce Characteristics in the Rural Public Health Sector
Analyzes the environmental workforce characteristics of the rural public health sector to inform policy relative to coordination of rural environmental health services. Addresses environmental activities performed by local health departments.
Additional links: Policy Brief
Author(s): Cynthia Armstrong Persily, Johnna S. Beane, Mary Glenn Rice
Date: 06/2011
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
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Health-Related Quality of Life Among Central Appalachian Residents in Mountaintop Mining Counties
Examines the health-related quality of life of residents in mountaintop mining counties of Appalachia using the 2006 national Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Author(s): Keith J. Zullig, Michael Hendryx
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 101(5), 848-853
Date: 05/2011
Type: Document
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Long-Term Low-Level Arsenic Exposure Is Associated with Poorer Neuropsychological Functioning: A Project FRONTIER Study
Discusses the potential link of arsenic exposure and neuropsychological functioning in rural-dwelling adults and elders.
Author(s): Sid E. O'Bryant, Melissa Edwards, Chloe V. Menon, Gordon Gong, Robert Barber
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 8(3), 861-874
Date: 03/2011
Type: Document
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