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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Human services

Technological Innovation in Rural Health and Human Services Spaces, with Dan Shane
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Dan Shane, Associate Professor with the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis. Focuses on opportunities for applying technological advances in rural health and human services, potential challenges, and future avenues of development.
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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The Family Engagement Toolkit: Guidance for Early Childhood Home Visiting Programs on Improving Outreach, Recruitment, and Retention
Presents The Family Engagement Toolkit, a set of resources focused on improving engagement with early childhood home visiting programs. Provides tools for program evaluation, goal setting, and prioritizing community and family needs. Includes suggestions specific to rural communities.
Author(s): Rebecca Kleinman, Annie Buonaspina, Emily Rosen, et al.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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Better Together: Rural Community Collaboration in North Carolina's Cape Fear Region
Examines the impact of the disAbility Resource Center of North Carolina (dRC) that serves people with disabilities in rural North Carolina. Discusses collaboration with other organizations and efforts to provide disability and human services.
Author(s): Luke Santore, Lillie Greiman, Rayna Sage
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of Montana: Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities
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Caregiving in the US: Rural Family Caregivers
A national profile of rural family caregivers and challenges they face. Offers data on living arrangements, access to affordable services, and employment.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organizations: AARP, National Alliance for Caregiving
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Partnering with Schools, Feeding Communities: ETHRA's Non-Congregate Success
Profiles the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency (ETHRA) and their partnership with schools to provide non-congregate meals to children in rural and hard-to-reach areas. Provides information on the program model and and how it functions.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
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Stories of Impact: Lee County Health Department
Profiles the Lee County Health Department in Iowa and their work to support community health worker certification, continuing education for public health workers, mobile resource clinics, and health and human services referral processes.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Health Policy Center
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Reflections from Lived Experience: Disability and Public Libraries
Examines disability needs as related to rural public libraries and their services. Focuses on library networking, information resources, outreach, and accessing community resources in rural areas. Discusses library services such as assisting with health insurance and benefits enrollment, social connectedness, transportation needs, and more.
Author(s): Jeff Gutierrez
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of Montana: Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities
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Mechanisms of Resilience and Coping to Intersectional HIV Prevention and Drug-Use Stigma among People who Inject Drugs in Rural Appalachian Ohio
Analyzes perspectives on resilience and coping strategies and behaviors related to stigma reduction and HIV prevention among people who inject drugs (PWID) in rural Appalachian Ohio, utilizing interview data of 35 PWID. Discusses the role of supports for PWID in improving public health outcomes in rural areas.
Author(s): Stacy Endres-Dighe, Ana D. Sucaldito, Renee McDowell, et al.
Citation: Harm Reduction Journal, 22, 18
Date: 02/2025
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Lessons for Human Services: Perspectives of Program Participants on Extreme Weather and Environmental Hazards
Examines how human services programs mitigate issues caused by environmental hazards and extreme weather for low-income and underresourced communities. Utilizes qualitative data from 41 participants, with a focus on impacts of trash and garbage, flooding, air and water quality, extreme heat, and other environmental conditions. Includes commentary about hazards specific to rural areas.
Author(s): Anne Junod, Pamela Winston, Maretta McDonald, Mikaela Tajo, Rebecca Marx
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Braiding Research Approaches to Understand Home Visiting in Indigenous Communities
Provides a scoping review, research questions, and feedback from practitioners regarding Indigenous home visiting programs and Indigenous methodologies in home visiting research. Includes suggestions for research methodologies that incorporate cultural awareness and relationships in Indigenous communities.
Author(s): Natalie Moyer, Chelsea Wesner, Michelle Sarche, et al.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Administration for Children and Families, The Center for Indigenous Research Collaboration and Learning for Home Visiting
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