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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Environmental health

Minnesota Community Report: Healthy Rural and Urban Kids Project
Reports on biomonitoring project that looks at exposures to environmental chemicals that may harm young children in both rural and urban areas of Minnesota by testing the urine of 232 children aged 6 or under. Discusses the chemicals that were more commonly observed in rural versus urban children.
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Health
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What Can We Do When the Smoke Rolls In? An Exploratory Qualitative Analysis of the Impacts of Rural Wildfire Smoke on Mental Health and Wellbeing, and Opportunities for Adaptation
Study examining the mental health and wellbeing impacts of wildfire smoke events based on community focus group sessions and key informant interviews with healthcare and social service providers in Okanogan County, Washington. Describes wildfire smoke exposure effects on anxiety, depressive symptoms, isolation, and physical health, and explores opportunities for healthcare and community interventions.
Author(s): Anna Humphreys, Elizabeth G. Walker, Gregory N. Bratman, Nicole A. Errett
Citation: BMC Public Health, 22, 41
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
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Navajo Philosophies and Worldviews Shape Focus Groups on the Impacts of a Mine Spill
Describes collaborative research that incorporated Navajo philosophy and worldviews into focus group examinations of the Gold King Mine spill of 2015, which impacted a river that flows through the Navajo Nation. Discusses the project's development, building community buy-in, and examining socio-cultural impacts of the disaster.
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health
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Randomized Trial of a Portable HEPA Air Cleaner Intervention to Reduce Asthma Morbidity Among Latino Children in an Agricultural Community
Study evaluating the impact of HEPA air cleaners on asthma morbidity for a group of 75 rural Latino children in the Lower Yakima Valley region of Washington. Analyzes health outcomes after providing an intervention group with HEPA air cleaners, and describes the potential for HEPA air cleaners to aid in asthma control in children, particularly in agricultural and industrial settings.
Author(s): Rebecca L. Drieling, Paul D. Sampson, Jennifer E. Krenz, et al.
Citation: Environmental Health, 21, 1
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
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Human Cases of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome in New Mexico, 1975-2021
Provides a county map of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) cases in New Mexico from 1975-2020, with additional maps for each year from 2006-2020. Includes charts that represent cases by year, mortality, cases by month, and demographic data.
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: New Mexico Department of Health
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Agricultural Health Study: 2022 Study Update
Report presents an update from the Agricultural Health Study, a long-term study from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Discusses the health risk from pesticide exposure, including cancer and immune function.
Date: 2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Institutes of Health
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Guidance on PFAS Exposure, Testing, and Clinical Follow-Up
Report examining the effects of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are common in well water in rural areas and have been linked to adverse health effects including cancer, thyroid dysfunction, changes in cholesterol, and reductions in birth weight. Recommends that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health departments support clinicians in communities where PFAS contamination has been identified, by creating educational materials on PFAS exposure, potential health effects, the limitations of testing, and the benefits and harms of testing.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice
Date: 2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Alaska Native Health Status Report
Provides an overview of Alaskan Native health, with a focus on sociodemographics and social determinants of health (SDOH); mortality; morbidity; maternal, infant, and child health; adolescent health; adult health; preventive care; and environmental health. Includes data and maps on health issues in Alaskan regions. Discusses advocacy, program planning, policy development, and evaluation related to Alaskan Native public health.
Date: 12/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
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North Dakota Department of Health Biennial Report: 2019-2021
Highlights the goals and accomplishments of the North Dakota Department of Health during the 2019-2021 biennium, in the areas of community health, emergency preparedness and response, environmental health, health resources, medical services, and local public health units. Includes information on rural healthcare facilities and rural health promotion programs.
Date: 11/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Dakota Department of Health
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NIH Rural Health Seminar: Structural-Level Determinants of Rural Health Disparities
Recording of a seminar that examines structural-level determinants of rural health disparities, including sociocultural and economic determinants, physical environmental determinants, and research, evaluation, measurement, and policy methods and implications.
Additional links: Seminar Agenda, Speaker Biographies
Date: 11/2021
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health
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