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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Physical activity

Community-Wide Efforts to Improve the Consumer Food Environment and Physical Activity Resources in Rural Kentucky
Highlights the efforts of a community project in Kentucky to increase access to healthy foods and opportunities to be physically active. Details the project's work with grocery store managers to increase the availability of healthy food and with community members to develop and improve physical activity resources.
Author(s): Alison Gustafson, Margaret McGladrey,Tammy Stephenson, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 16:180322
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
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Rural-Urban Differences in Baseline Dietary Intake and Physical Activity Levels of Adolescents
Analyzes data on dietary intake and physical activity for 940 9th and 10th graders in 8 high schools in the southwestern U.S. from 2014-2017. Features demographic statistics including breakdowns by population density of less than and greater than 1,000 people per square mile.
Author(s): Renee Euler, Elizabeth Yakes Jimenez, Sarah Sanders, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 16
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
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Healthy Eating and Active Living Through an Equity Lens
Describes how three predominantly Black North Carolina communities in rural Appalachia addressed their health disparities and improved quality of life with the establishment of a community garden and the promotion of active living.
Author(s): Laura Gerald
Citation: Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2019
Date: 2019
Type: Document
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Establishing a Community-Based Participatory Research Partnership in a Rural Community in the Midwest
Reports on a research approach to address health disparities in a rural Midwestern community identified as a "new destination" location for immigrants including Latinos. Describes the creation of a partnership between the University of Iowa (UI) Prevention Research Center (PRC) and the community of Ottumwa, Iowa to develop an intervention to increase the physical activity within the population that lacks access to primary care and has high rates of obesity, diabetes, substance abuse, and mental health issues.
Author(s): Edith A. Parker, Barbara Baquero, Jason Daniel-Ulloa, et al.
Citation: Progress in Community Health Partnership,13(2), 201-208
Date: 2019
Type: Document
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Association Between the Food and Physical Activity Environment, Obesity, and Cardiovascular Health Across Maine Counties
Study examining associations between demographic and environmental factors, such as food availability and access to fitness facilities, and prevalence of obesity and poor cardiovascular health (CVH) in the predominantly rural state of Maine. Includes relationships between individual characteristics, like age and income, and risk factors for poor CVH, including smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, poor diet, and diabetes.
Author(s): Allison Briggs, Adam Black, F. Lee Lucas, Andrea Siewers, Kathleen Fairfield
Citation: BMC Public Health, 19(1), 374
Date: 2019
Type: Document
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The Relationship Between Rural Setting and Health: Factors that Influence Individuals With or at Risk of CVD - A Summary of the Literature
Describes current literature on rural challenges and opportunities, including cardiovascular risk due to obesity, lack of access to healthcare, workforce shortages, importance of paramedics and community health workers, telehealth and broadband, and impact of the substance use disorder epidemic. Intended to help stakeholders understand the causes of health disparities and to support action to improve the health of rural communities.
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Heart Association
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2018 National Survey of Health Attitudes: Description and Top-Line Summary Data
Results of a survey designed to provide insight into how people in the U.S. think about, value, and prioritize health and issues of health equity. Appendix A shows survey results comparing populations by city size, with breakdowns by rural areas, small towns, midsized cities, and large cities, and Appendix B features statistics comparing urban and rural areas.
Additional links: Appendix A: Survey Results Comparing Populations by City Size, Appendix B: Survey Results Comparing Urban and Rural Populations
Author(s): Katherine Grace Carman, Anita Chandra, Sarah Weilant, Carolyn Miller, Margaret Tait
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: RAND Corporation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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Support and Sabotage: A Qualitative Study of Social Influences on Health Behaviors among Rural Adults
Examines the impact of social relationships on health behavior adoption and maintenance by interviewing midlife and older adults in rural Montana at increased risk of chronic disease. Addresses family and peer influences on diet, physical activity, and tobacco use.
Author(s): Urshila Sriram, Emily H. Morgan, Meredith L. Graham, Sara C. Folta, Rebecca A. Seguin
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 34(1), 88-97
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
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America's Health Rankings Annual Report 2018
Provides a national and state-by-state overview of population health by analyzing 35 measures to describe health outcomes in the U.S. Provides rural specific information and statistics by residence, obesity, excessive alcohol use, physical inactivity, smoking, diabetes, health status, mental and physical distress.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: United Health Foundation
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Rates of Obesity and Obesogenic Behaviors of Rural Appalachian Adolescents: How Do They Compare to Other Adolescents or Recommendations?
Evaluates data from a sample of Appalachian adolescents in Ohio to compare obesity and related behaviors to that of the national adolescent population. Includes comparisons for body mass index (BMI), mean body fat percentage, daily physical activity behaviors, and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.
Author(s): Laureen H. Smith, Devin Laurent, Erica Baumker, Rick L. Petosa
Citation: Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 15(11), 874-881
Date: 11/2018
Type: Document
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