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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Infrastructure

Broadband Today: Rural America's Critical Connection
Report discussing the importance of broadband to connecting rural communities, including its role in rural businesses, telehealth access, education, and agriculture. Addresses the impacts of COVID-19 on remote work, telehealth delivery, and changes to business and consumer activity, and explores future steps for broadband funding and adoption in rural areas.
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Foundation for Rural Service
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Quality Water from Every Tap: Proceedings of a Workshop - in Brief
Summarizes topics covered at a workshop held November 21-22, 2019, including discussion on water quality challenges and suggestions for improvement. Focuses on areas that may lack sufficient resources, such as rural and tribal communities.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Division on Earth and Life Studies
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Federal Universal Service Fund and Other Selected Federal Broadband Programs: A Primer
Provides an overview of federal programs designed to accelerate broadband deployment and adoption in minority communities, rural and tribal areas, and among eligible households.
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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The Importance of Video Visits in the Time of COVID-19
Highlights the importance of video-to-home telemedicine (VTH) for maintaining mental healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses the usefulness of VTH in expanding access to mental healthcare broadly, as well as some of the infrastructure-based limitations that currently exist.
Author(s): Jan A. Lindsay, Julianna B. Hogan, Anthony H. Ecker, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(1), 242-245
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
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Barriers to Telemedicine Implementation in Southwest Tribal Communities During COVID-19
Explores some of the barriers to expanding telemedicine to tribal communities in the Southwestern U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses some of the existing health and infrastructure disparities faced by the tribes and details both the need for telemedicine and the barriers to providing it.
Author(s): Janessa M. Graves, Jessica L. Mackelprang, Solmaz Amiri, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(1), 239-241
Date: 01/2021
Type: Document
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Rural Transportation Issues: Research Roadmap
Report details the form and function of the transportation systems serving rural areas. Discusses gaps in service for all forms of rural transportation, including EMS and non-emergency medical transportation.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, National Cooperative Highway Research Program
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Models for Population Health Improvement by Health Care Systems and Partners: Tensions and Promise on the Path Upstream: Proceedings of a Workshop
Proceedings from a public workshop held on September 19, 2019, exploring higher levels of action to improve health, such as changing laws, policies, and regulations, to improve the community conditions for health. Describes efforts of health systems and their partners to move beyond what takes place in clinical settings and to identify and respond to the needs of patients and communities. Notes that some approaches may work differently in rural and urban areas.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice
Date: 2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Applicant Toolkit for Competitive Funding Programs at USDOT
Provides information and resources to guide users through the process of finding and applying for United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) discretionary grants to fund transportation projects in rural communities. Includes an overview of the discretionary grant process, informational videos, financing resources, examples of past funding activities, and more. Developed as a component of the Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (R.O.U.T.E.S.) Initiative.
Date: 2021
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: United States Department of Transportation (USDOT)
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Perceived Importance of Physical Activity and Walkable Neighborhoods Among US Adults, 2017
Uses nationally representative data to assess adults' self-reported importance of getting regular physical activity and residing in walkable neighborhoods. Includes data breakdowns by sex, age, race/ethnicity, census region, nonmetropolitan/metropolitan status, and more.
Author(s): Susan A. Carlson, Emily N. Ussery, Kathleen B. Watson, Kelly A. Cornett, Janet E. Fulton
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 17
Date: 12/2020
Type: Document
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Water Safety in California Public Schools Following Implementation of School Drinking Water Policies
Study examining results from a California testing program created to detect lead in charter and public school drinking water. Analyzes factors associated with access to safe drinking water, including differences between rural and urban schools. Features data and statistics indicating whether school water systems were compliant with health standards and whether school drinking water was tested for lead.
Author(s): Isioma L. Umunna, Lauren S. Blacker, Christina E. Hecht, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 17
Date: 12/2020
Type: Document
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