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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Environmental health

Task Force of Border Health Officials Recommendations Report, 2022
Report addressing public health issues in the Texas-Mexico border region, offering short- and long-term planning recommendations. Covers health infrastructure, communicable diseases, environmental health, chronic diseases, and maternal child health.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Task Force of Border Health Officials
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The Intersection of Workplace and Environmental Exposure on Health in Latinx Farm Working Communities in Rural Inland Southern California
Analyzes access and barriers to healthcare services for Eastern Coachella Valley rural farmworkers who are exposed to workplace and environmental health risks. Reports on 9 culturally responsive in-home interviews conducted from 2017 to 2018 with the assistance of a bilingual Spanish-Purépecha Latina promotora. Provides demographic information of participants and quotes from interviews related to themes such as environmental exposures, including the nearby Salton Sea; agricultural labor and its impact on health; chronic health conditions and trauma of exposures; and community-proposed solutions.
Author(s): Ann Marie Cheney, Tatiana Barrera, Katheryn Rodriguez, Ana María Jaramillo López
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12940
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
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Through Natural Disaster to Prosperity: Five Principles to Improve Health and Economic Outcomes for Rural Communities and Native Nations
Describes 5 principles related to natural disasters and community resilience, including conditions that affect disaster vulnerability, relationships among rural communities and natural systems, equity in disaster response, local capacity, and responsive funding. Offers rural and tribal case studies and perspectives from rural economic and community development practitioners.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Aspen Institute
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How To Improve Community Wildfire Defense Grants To Build Rural Resilience
Analyzes the impact of wildfires in northern New Mexico to plan for increased needs related to climate disasters in rural and vulnerable communities across the U.S. Discusses issues such as capacity in rural areas that create challenges when utilizing federal assistance. Provides suggestions for investments in built environment and collaborations across agencies to plan for grant funding that supports rural areas and increases rural resilience.
Author(s): Sofia Garcia George, Mark Haggerty
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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Helping Western Tribal Communities Understand the Impacts of and Adaptation Options for Climate Change
Analyzes the impact of the Native Waters on Arid Lands project to educate tribal areas in the Great Basin and southwestern U.S. about climate change and its impacts on drought, precipitation, and groundwater. Discusses the need to build resiliency and infrastructure for ecological health and to protect tribal agriculture and water systems from climate change issues.
Author(s): Margaret Lawrence
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
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Partnership to Develop and Deliver Curriculum Supporting Student-Led Air Quality Research in Rural Washington State
Highlights a partnership between an urban and rural university and a tribal high school in Washington's Yakima Valley to conduct air-quality research. Discusses the design of the project, the roles and responsibilities of each party, and evaluates the success of the partnership.
Author(s): Orly Stampfer, Omar Torres Cassio, Jason A. Grajales, et al.
Citation: Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 16(3), 411-420
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Incidental Sun Exposures as a Source of Sunburn Among Rural Compared to Urban Residents in the United States
Presents a study comparing sun exposure for people living in rural versus urban areas. Looks at sun exposure from leisure time activities and outdoor work for both rural and urban people.
Author(s): Patricia I. Jewett, Carrie Henning-Smith, DeAnn Lazovich, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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2020 Forces of Change: The COVID-19 Edition
Reports on capacity, preparedness, and response of local health departments (LHDs) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizes survey data from 583 LHDs and includes information such as job losses, budget changes, COVID-19 response timeline, workforce changes, experiences related to harassment, available services, recovery efforts, and more. Data includes information from small, medium, and large LHDs.
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of County and City Health Officials
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Lyme Disease: A Continuing Concern
Infographic presenting Lyme disease diagnosis data from private insurance claims between 2007-2021, noting rural and urban increases in diagnoses. Also highlights data from 2016-2021 and identifies top states for Lyme Disease.
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: FAIR Health
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Social Ecology of Hypertension Management Among Latinos Living in the U.S.–Mexico Border Region
Study examining hypertension management in 2 rural, frontier counties in the U.S.-Mexico border region based on data from 8 focus groups with 49 total participants. Discusses social and environmental issues raised in the focus groups, including individual barriers to disease management, social relationships, healthcare-related concerns, and environmental health.
Author(s): Lisa Cacari Stone, Victoria Sanchez, Sean Patrick Bruna, Michael Muhammad, Carmen Zamora
Citation: Health Promotion Practice, 23(4), 650-661
Date: 07/2022
Type: Document
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