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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Planning and strategy methods and resources

New Resource Webinar: CRC Screening in Rural Communities Best Practices Guidebook
Webinar introducing the ACS NCCRT Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening in Rural Communities Best Practices Guidebook. Includes an overview of CRC disparities in rural communities and offers guidance for organizations working to improve CRC screening rates in their communities. Highlights successes of CRC screening programs in Alaska and Arizona administered by the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation and Mariposa Community Health Center.
Additional links: Colorectal Cancer Screening in Rural Communities Best Practices Guidebook, Presentation Slides
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (ACS NCCRT)
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Increasing Colorectal Cancer Screening in Rural Communities: A Practical Guide
Provides an overview of rural colorectal cancer (CRC) disparities and guidance for community organizations on improving CRC screening in rural areas. Includes recommendations related to recognizing and addressing barriers to screening, organizational planning and strategy, service delivery models, and more.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (ACS NCCRT)
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Community Development in Rural Health Toolkit
A toolkit that provides local strategies, planning resources, assessment tools, evidence-based models, templates, and case studies related to rural health community development. Focuses on 5 key theories of rural community health development: social capital, asset-based community development, appreciative inquiry, participatory development, and collective impact model.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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"I Now Have the Freedom to Do What I Want, When I Want, Like Anybody Else": The Impact, Creation, and Management of Transportation Voucher Programs
Explores the impacts and implementation of transportation voucher programs supporting people with disabilities in rural areas via interviews with CIL staff and disabled voucher program participants. Discusses the experiences of rural people with disabilities and highlights benefits and challenges of transportation voucher programs.
Author(s): Luke Santore, Andrew Myers
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of Montana: Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities
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Assisting Rural Consumers
Offers information and guidance for Navigators and certified application counselors helping rural healthcare consumers. Covers rural-relevant considerations and policy updates regarding Federally-facilitated and State-based Marketplaces, Medicaid/CHIP, and Medicare. Outlines tips for assisters to address barriers to care and conducting outreach in rural areas.
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Quality Improvement Workbook
Outlines seven steps of the quality improvement process. Offers interactive worksheets to help Critical Access Hospitals develop and support quality improvement goals and projects.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Quality Improvement Technical Assistance (RQITA) Resource Center
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Factors Influencing Evidence-Based Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Programming in Rural African American Communities: A Community-Engaged Concept Mapping Study
Analyzes perspectives on evidence-based cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and management programs, utilizing a group concept mapping (GCM) approach with input from 31 community-based, faith, and healthcare organizations serving African Americans in rural North Carolina.
Author(s): Amelia DeFosset, Breanna Deutsch-Williams, Mysha Wynn, et al.
Citation: Implementation Science Communications, 6, 11
Date: 01/2025
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Critical Access Hospital Financial Sustainability Guide
Provides guidance and assistance to state Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program personnel, leaders of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), and others helping CAHs manage long-term financial stability. Presents potential interventions CAHs may use to address ongoing and systemic financial challenges in rural healthcare.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organizations: EideBailly, National Rural Health Resource Center
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North Dakota Critical Access Hospital Conditions of Participation (CoP) Checklist
Provides a checklist for establishing a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) in North Dakota. Details the required documentation, policies, and information needed by the state survey team to meet the CAH certification standards.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health
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A Toolkit for Developing Local Multisector Plans for Aging in Rural Areas
Offers 10 steps for developing a master plan for aging with rural focus, covering leadership development, community engagement, implementation planning, evaluation, and sustainability. Highlights rural-specific challenges for aging in rural communities.
Additional links: One Pager
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: The SCAN Foundation
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