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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Families

Promotoras de Salud in a Father-Focused Nutrition and Physical Activity Program for Border Communities: Approaches and Lessons Learned from Collaboration
Explores the role community health workers, or promotoras de salud, played the design, implementation, and evaluation of a father-focused health program for rural Latino communities on the U.S.-Mexico border. Highlights some of the health and wellness issues for children and adults in the poor and underserved colonias along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Author(s): Cassandra M. Johnson, Marlyn A. Allicock, Joseph R. Sharkey, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(18), 11660
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2019 (AIAN FACES 2019)
Summarizes key findings related to American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Head Start experiences from the 2019 Family and Child Experiences (FACES) Survey. Provides an overview of Head Start and federally recognized tribes and how the entities interact. Includes demographic information of AI/AN families in Head Start, such as education level, food security, access to medical care, presence of mental health issues in the home, and more.
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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Rural Children with 4+ Adverse Childhood Experiences Often Lack Positive Experiences
Fact sheet presenting findings of a study examining the level of protective positive childhood experiences (PCEs) among rural children, sorted by high-risk adverse childhood experience (ACE) scores. Offers comparisons of PCEs among children with fewer than 4 ACEs and greater than 4 ACEs, including after school activities, safe and supportive neighborhoods, and community and family connection.
Date: 07/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Family Strengthening Research: 2021 Report
Provides an overview of the Division of Family Strengthening's (DFS) major research investments through 2021. Reports on DFS focus areas: strengthening and supporting relationships, fatherhood, children, and families; reducing teen pregnancy and supporting positive youth development; and preventing family violence. Includes discussions on programs and issues specific to tribal and rural communities.
Date: 07/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Validation of Remote Height and Weight Assessment in a Rural Randomized Clinical Trial
Examines the efficacy of having rural families take their own height and weight measurements to assess body mass index (BMI). Provides results for 38 families enrolled in the iAmHealthy Schools trial conducted within participating rural elementary schools. Discusses the potential of using remote BMI assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic and for families in hard-to-reach areas.
Author(s): Bethany Forseth, Ann M. Davis, Dana M. Bakula, et al.
Citation: BMC Medical Research Methodology, 22
Date: 07/2022
Type: Document
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Family Level Assessment and State of Home Visiting Outreach and Recruitment Study Report
Examines the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program to identify promising strategies for continued research as well as areas needing technical assistance, improvement, and evaluation. Reports on 266 programs to understand family capacity and need, how to frame outreach, promoting interest in home visits, collaborating with referral partners, and maintaining caseloads. Includes discussions specific to rural community contexts.
Author(s): Susan Zaid, Kim McCombs-Thornton, Leah Childress, et al.
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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Costs of Evidence-Based Early Childhood Home Visiting: Results from the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation
Examines how resources are allocated at Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program-funded local home visiting programs. Estimates the costs for each family served in Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE) and how these costs differ across families, local programs, and evidence-based models. Includes data comparing programs that serve only metropolitan, only nonmetropolitan, and both types of counties.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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On the Farm
Documentary miniseries explores mental health and substance misuse on the American farm. Discusses the factors that contribute to psychological stress and substance use in farm families. Features interviews with experts as well as farmers and their families.
Additional links: Film Website
Date: 06/2022
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Mississippi State University
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Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Retention Strategies with Head Start-Eligible Families Experiencing Adversity: A Review of the Literature
Examines Head Start recruitment, enrollment, and retention strategies in relation to families experiencing adversity. Reviews 39 research studies published between 2011 and 2021 to identify adversities experienced by Head Start-eligible families, such as poverty, homelessness, involvement with foster care and child welfare systems, and substance abuse. Includes information about unique adversities experienced in rural locations.
Author(s): Cassandra Baxter, Nikki Aikens, Louisa Tarullo, et al.
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: ACF Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, Brazelton Touchpoints Center, Mathematica
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Area-Level Deprivation and Adverse Childhood Experiences among High School Students in Maryland
Examines the frequency of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in adolescents in Maryland such as food insecurity and parental addiction, mental illness, violence, or incarceration. Reports on the 2018 Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey/Youth Tobacco Survey data from 41,091 adolescents to examine the connection between ACEs and area-level deprivation. Includes data breakdowns by rural/not rural county, age, sex, and sexual and gender minority (SGM) status.
Author(s): Shaheen Kurani, Lindsey Webb, Kechna Cadet, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 22(811)
Date: 04/2022
Type: Document
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