Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Social connectedness
VHA 2024 State of Innovation Report
Reports on innovative programs and services in the U.S. Veterans Health Administration. Highlights pilot projects, projects being planned, and projects already implemented at local VA facilities. Discusses rural projects related to physical therapy, telehealth for podiatry and dentistry, and social connection.
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
view details
Reports on innovative programs and services in the U.S. Veterans Health Administration. Highlights pilot projects, projects being planned, and projects already implemented at local VA facilities. Discusses rural projects related to physical therapy, telehealth for podiatry and dentistry, and social connection.
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
view details
Systems Of Cross-Sector Integration and Action across the Lifespan (SOCIAL) Framework Report
Discusses the Systems Of Cross-sector Integration and Action across the Lifespan (SOCIAL) Framework that explores social determinants of health and opportunities for collaboration across sectors. Provides strategies to address built environment and improve social connectedness among local citizens. Includes considerations and examples from rural areas.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Ashley Krombach, Erin Peavey, Risa Wilkerson, Abigail Barth
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: Foundation for Social Connection
view details
Discusses the Systems Of Cross-sector Integration and Action across the Lifespan (SOCIAL) Framework that explores social determinants of health and opportunities for collaboration across sectors. Provides strategies to address built environment and improve social connectedness among local citizens. Includes considerations and examples from rural areas.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Ashley Krombach, Erin Peavey, Risa Wilkerson, Abigail Barth
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: Foundation for Social Connection
view details
2024 Indiana Girl Report Dashboard
Provides interactive county-level data on girls in Indiana. Includes demographic information, population to provider ratios, health insurance data, educational attainment, reported bullying incidents, feelings of disconnection, and more.
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organizations: Girl Coalition of Indiana, Girl Scouts, Indiana Youth Institute
view details
Provides interactive county-level data on girls in Indiana. Includes demographic information, population to provider ratios, health insurance data, educational attainment, reported bullying incidents, feelings of disconnection, and more.
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organizations: Girl Coalition of Indiana, Girl Scouts, Indiana Youth Institute
view details
Identifying Our Needs: A Survey of Elders Cycle VIII (2020-2023) - 2024 Final Report
Report highlights data collected from a survey of American Indian and Alaska Native elders regarding their health and wellness. Explores reported rates of healthcare access, substance use, social support, housing, healthcare screening, and more.
Additional links: Infographic: Caregiving and Socialization Among Native Elders, Infographic: Frailty and Physical Functioning Among Native Elders, Infographic: Native Elders in the United States, Infographic: Nutrition Among Native Elders
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: National Resource Center on Native American Aging
view details
Report highlights data collected from a survey of American Indian and Alaska Native elders regarding their health and wellness. Explores reported rates of healthcare access, substance use, social support, housing, healthcare screening, and more.
Additional links: Infographic: Caregiving and Socialization Among Native Elders, Infographic: Frailty and Physical Functioning Among Native Elders, Infographic: Native Elders in the United States, Infographic: Nutrition Among Native Elders
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: National Resource Center on Native American Aging
view details
Primary Care Professionals' Perspectives on Tailoring Buprenorphine Training for Rural Practice
Interviewed 23 rural Ohio primary care professionals to identify barriers to prescribing buprenorphine for opioid use disorder treatment. Discusses the need for training addressing rural-specific barriers, limited patient access to required social supports, workforce, and stigma. Offers recommendations based on findings.
Author(s): Cheyenne Fenstemaker, Elizabeth A. Abrams, Benjamin Obringer, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(4), 671-680
Date: 2024
view details
Interviewed 23 rural Ohio primary care professionals to identify barriers to prescribing buprenorphine for opioid use disorder treatment. Discusses the need for training addressing rural-specific barriers, limited patient access to required social supports, workforce, and stigma. Offers recommendations based on findings.
Author(s): Cheyenne Fenstemaker, Elizabeth A. Abrams, Benjamin Obringer, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(4), 671-680
Date: 2024
view details
Women Veterans: The Journey to Mental Wellness
Report discussing mental health for female veterans. Discusses topics including suicide prevention with a focus on rural issues, abuse and violence, substance use, eating disorders, social connectedness, maternity, and care coordination. Offers policy and research recommendations to the Veterans Health Administration.
Additional links: Quick Glance
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: Disabled American Veterans
view details
Report discussing mental health for female veterans. Discusses topics including suicide prevention with a focus on rural issues, abuse and violence, substance use, eating disorders, social connectedness, maternity, and care coordination. Offers policy and research recommendations to the Veterans Health Administration.
Additional links: Quick Glance
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: Disabled American Veterans
view details
Rural-Urban Differences in Social and Emotional Protective Factors and Their Association with Child Health and Flourishing
Examines differences in childhood protective factors in rural and urban communities that correlate with childhood health and wellness. Utilizes 2018-2021 data from the National Survey of Children's Health to analyze protective factors such as caregiver emotional and social support, caregiver mental and physical health, family resilience and connectedness, neighborhood and school safety, and more. Includes rural versus urban comparisons with data further broken down by race/ethnicity, sex, age, health status, and marriage status of caregiver.
Author(s): Rose Y. Hardy, Samantha J. Boch, Mattina A. Davenport, Laura J. Chavez, Kelly J. Kelleher
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(2), 314-325
Date: 2024
view details
Examines differences in childhood protective factors in rural and urban communities that correlate with childhood health and wellness. Utilizes 2018-2021 data from the National Survey of Children's Health to analyze protective factors such as caregiver emotional and social support, caregiver mental and physical health, family resilience and connectedness, neighborhood and school safety, and more. Includes rural versus urban comparisons with data further broken down by race/ethnicity, sex, age, health status, and marriage status of caregiver.
Author(s): Rose Y. Hardy, Samantha J. Boch, Mattina A. Davenport, Laura J. Chavez, Kelly J. Kelleher
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(2), 314-325
Date: 2024
view details
A Community-Engaged Approach to Understanding Suicide in a Small Rural County in Georgia: A Two-Phase Content Analysis of Individual and Focus Group Interviews
Evaluates the need for suicide prevention and appropriateness of prevention efforts in a rural Georgia county, utilizing data from 20 individual interviews and 2 focus groups conducted August 2021-June 2022. Details individual and community contextual drivers of suicide, facilitators and barriers of medical and social support access, linkage gaps in mental health care services, and factors influencing community response.
Author(s): Kimberly Beth Roth, Eleni Gaveras, Fatima Ghiathi, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(24), 7145
Date: 12/2023
view details
Evaluates the need for suicide prevention and appropriateness of prevention efforts in a rural Georgia county, utilizing data from 20 individual interviews and 2 focus groups conducted August 2021-June 2022. Details individual and community contextual drivers of suicide, facilitators and barriers of medical and social support access, linkage gaps in mental health care services, and factors influencing community response.
Author(s): Kimberly Beth Roth, Eleni Gaveras, Fatima Ghiathi, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(24), 7145
Date: 12/2023
view details
Impacts of Transit on Health in Rural and Small Urban Areas
Overview of how public transportation affects health in rural and small urban areas. Summarizes findings from a literature review that looked at public transportation as it relates to the social determinants of health, healthcare access, physical activity, social isolation, and mental health. Also reports results from a survey of rural older adults supplemented by data analysis looking at travel for healthcare, challenges related to public transportation, and the impacts of missed or delayed healthcare trips.
Author(s): Jeremy Mattson, Bright Quayson
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
view details
Overview of how public transportation affects health in rural and small urban areas. Summarizes findings from a literature review that looked at public transportation as it relates to the social determinants of health, healthcare access, physical activity, social isolation, and mental health. Also reports results from a survey of rural older adults supplemented by data analysis looking at travel for healthcare, challenges related to public transportation, and the impacts of missed or delayed healthcare trips.
Author(s): Jeremy Mattson, Bright Quayson
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
view details
Engaging Families and Providers When Aligning Early Childhood and Medicaid Systems: State Lessons
Describes how the alignment of health and social supports and services offered by Medicaid and early childhood agencies can create systems that better meet the needs of families with young children. Outlines four strategies states can use to engage families and providers when working on systems alignment effectively. Highlights an Alaska initiative that worked with a local community organization to recruit rural providers and families to identify opportunities for service improvement.
Author(s): Lauren Scannelli Jacobs, Armelle Casau
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
view details
Describes how the alignment of health and social supports and services offered by Medicaid and early childhood agencies can create systems that better meet the needs of families with young children. Outlines four strategies states can use to engage families and providers when working on systems alignment effectively. Highlights an Alaska initiative that worked with a local community organization to recruit rural providers and families to identify opportunities for service improvement.
Author(s): Lauren Scannelli Jacobs, Armelle Casau
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
view details