Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Infrastructure
2023 County Health Rankings National Findings Report
Analyzes county-level health and wellness data, focusing on issues such as civic infrastructure and socioeconomic opportunity. Includes information on access to broadband, libraries, parks and recreation, schools, and social organizations. Provides U.S. map of county-level life expectancy (LE) and discusses the relationship of LE to civic participation.
Additional links: County Health Rankings Reports: State Rankings Data & Reports
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps
view details
Analyzes county-level health and wellness data, focusing on issues such as civic infrastructure and socioeconomic opportunity. Includes information on access to broadband, libraries, parks and recreation, schools, and social organizations. Provides U.S. map of county-level life expectancy (LE) and discusses the relationship of LE to civic participation.
Additional links: County Health Rankings Reports: State Rankings Data & Reports
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps
view details
Rural Community Development (RCD) Grant Recipient Spotlights
Presents Rural Community Development (RCD) grant recipient stories about how they developed clean and safe water and wastewater practices in their rural and/or tribal communities. Includes video testimonials from RCD project sites across the United States that discuss the impact of water/wastewater programs in their locality.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
view details
Presents Rural Community Development (RCD) grant recipient stories about how they developed clean and safe water and wastewater practices in their rural and/or tribal communities. Includes video testimonials from RCD project sites across the United States that discuss the impact of water/wastewater programs in their locality.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
view details
Investing in Rural Capacity: Comprehensive Summary of the National Rural Development Stakeholder Listening Sessions
Discusses investments in capacity that improve quality of life in rural areas. Reports on responses from organizational stakeholders from the 4 U.S. Regional Rural Development Centers based on survey data and listening sessions that took place between 2021 and 2022. Focuses on strategies to address physical infrastructure, workforce and economic development, community vibrancy, climate change, health, agriculture and food systems, and equity in rural areas.
Author(s): Jason S. Entsminger, John J. Green, Rachel Welborn, et al.
Date: 02/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Regional Rural Development Centers
view details
Discusses investments in capacity that improve quality of life in rural areas. Reports on responses from organizational stakeholders from the 4 U.S. Regional Rural Development Centers based on survey data and listening sessions that took place between 2021 and 2022. Focuses on strategies to address physical infrastructure, workforce and economic development, community vibrancy, climate change, health, agriculture and food systems, and equity in rural areas.
Author(s): Jason S. Entsminger, John J. Green, Rachel Welborn, et al.
Date: 02/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Regional Rural Development Centers
view details
COVID-19 Related Protocol Considerations and Modifications within a Rural, Community-Engaged Health Promotion Randomized Trial
Examines data collection protocol modifications in the Change Club (CC) intervention which aims to improve civic engagement and built environment factors related to obesity and other chronic disease disparities. Analyzes 12 rural communities engaged in the CC intervention and discusses the subsequent measurements to observe intervention impacts, which were adjusted from onsite to self-reported due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzes data collection protocols that can establish both rigor and feasibility in rural health research.
Author(s): Rebecca A. Seguin-Fowler, Galen D. Eldridge, Meredith Graham, et al.
Citation: Methods and Protocols, 6(1), 5
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
view details
Examines data collection protocol modifications in the Change Club (CC) intervention which aims to improve civic engagement and built environment factors related to obesity and other chronic disease disparities. Analyzes 12 rural communities engaged in the CC intervention and discusses the subsequent measurements to observe intervention impacts, which were adjusted from onsite to self-reported due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzes data collection protocols that can establish both rigor and feasibility in rural health research.
Author(s): Rebecca A. Seguin-Fowler, Galen D. Eldridge, Meredith Graham, et al.
Citation: Methods and Protocols, 6(1), 5
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
view details
The Health Equity & Access for Rural Dually Eligible Individuals (HEARD) Toolkit: Raising Rural Voices from New Mexico, North Dakota, and Tennessee to Create Action
Provides an overview on the access barriers and health disparities of Medicaid and Medicare dually eligible individuals residing in rural areas. Presents research and stakeholder feedback from New Mexico, North Dakota, and Tennessee to provide information to policymakers. Discusses topics such as community planning related to equity and infrastructure, workforce capacity and community health workers (CHWs), and social determinants of health.
Author(s): Ellen Breslin, Samantha Di Paola, Susan McGeehan, Rebecca Kellenberg, Andrea Maresca
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Management Associates
view details
Provides an overview on the access barriers and health disparities of Medicaid and Medicare dually eligible individuals residing in rural areas. Presents research and stakeholder feedback from New Mexico, North Dakota, and Tennessee to provide information to policymakers. Discusses topics such as community planning related to equity and infrastructure, workforce capacity and community health workers (CHWs), and social determinants of health.
Author(s): Ellen Breslin, Samantha Di Paola, Susan McGeehan, Rebecca Kellenberg, Andrea Maresca
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Management Associates
view details
Barriers, Facilitators, and Opportunities to Promote Healthy Weight Behaviors among Preschool-Aged Children in Two Rural U.S Communities
Examines barriers, facilitators, and opportunities related to supporting wellness and healthy weight in rural preschool children. Utilizes focus group interviews with parents, caregivers, and community organizations as well as observation of built environment to assess healthy eating and physical activity resources. Discusses wellness barriers and facilitators for preschool children at the family, organization, and community levels.
Author(s): Katherine Jochim Pope, Cason Whitcomb, Maihan Vu, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health 23, 53
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
view details
Examines barriers, facilitators, and opportunities related to supporting wellness and healthy weight in rural preschool children. Utilizes focus group interviews with parents, caregivers, and community organizations as well as observation of built environment to assess healthy eating and physical activity resources. Discusses wellness barriers and facilitators for preschool children at the family, organization, and community levels.
Author(s): Katherine Jochim Pope, Cason Whitcomb, Maihan Vu, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health 23, 53
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
view details
Neighborhood Greenspace and Changes in Pediatric Obesity During COVID-19
Examines rates of pediatric obesity before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the pandemic as related to normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) or greenspace. Analyzes patient electronic health records (EHRs) of 81,418 children who had a pediatric visit between June 2019 and December 2019 and then again between June 2020 and December 2020. Includes demographic breakdowns of EHR patients by age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance type, neighborhood measures such as social/economic deprivation and supermarket access, and urban, suburban, or rural location.
Author(s): Stephanie L. Mayne, Shannon Kelleher, Chloe Hannan, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 64(1), 33-41
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
view details
Examines rates of pediatric obesity before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the pandemic as related to normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) or greenspace. Analyzes patient electronic health records (EHRs) of 81,418 children who had a pediatric visit between June 2019 and December 2019 and then again between June 2020 and December 2020. Includes demographic breakdowns of EHR patients by age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance type, neighborhood measures such as social/economic deprivation and supermarket access, and urban, suburban, or rural location.
Author(s): Stephanie L. Mayne, Shannon Kelleher, Chloe Hannan, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 64(1), 33-41
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
view details
2022 Communications Marketplace Report
Examines the state of competition across the broader communications marketplace, as well as laws, regulations, regulatory practices, or marketplace practices that pose a barrier to competitive entry and expansion of the marketplace. Identifies an emerging set of issues and opportunities presented by changes made in response to COVID-19. Includes data on tribal and rural areas throughout, including trends in broadband adoption and the percentage of households with multiple provider options between 2018-2021.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Communications Commission
view details
Examines the state of competition across the broader communications marketplace, as well as laws, regulations, regulatory practices, or marketplace practices that pose a barrier to competitive entry and expansion of the marketplace. Identifies an emerging set of issues and opportunities presented by changes made in response to COVID-19. Includes data on tribal and rural areas throughout, including trends in broadband adoption and the percentage of households with multiple provider options between 2018-2021.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Communications Commission
view details
FCC's National Broadband Map: Implications for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program
Provides an overview of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) broadband mapping activities. Describes the November 2022 National Broadband Map and its implications for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which was created to provide broadband service to unserved locations. Discusses potential implications of inaccurate data in the National Broadband Map and challenges to the accuracy of the map, as well as considerations for Congress.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
view details
Provides an overview of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) broadband mapping activities. Describes the November 2022 National Broadband Map and its implications for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which was created to provide broadband service to unserved locations. Discusses potential implications of inaccurate data in the National Broadband Map and challenges to the accuracy of the map, as well as considerations for Congress.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
view details
Broadband/Internet Availability Survey Report
Presents findings of a survey capturing rural broadband and internet availability data as reported by 233 internet companies in NTCA's email database. Breaks down availability by internet speed, network platforms, broadband adoption, and costs to increase customers' speeds, among other data points.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NTCA: The Rural Broadband Association
view details
Presents findings of a survey capturing rural broadband and internet availability data as reported by 233 internet companies in NTCA's email database. Breaks down availability by internet speed, network platforms, broadband adoption, and costs to increase customers' speeds, among other data points.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NTCA: The Rural Broadband Association
view details