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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Social connectedness

Assessing Factors Associated with Social Connectedness in Adults with Mobility Disabilities
Examines social connectedness among people with mobility disabilities using National Survey on Health and Disability data from October 2019 to January 2020. Identifies factors associated with social activity, social isolation, and loneliness among people with mobility disabilities, and makes comparisons among people with mobility disabilities and non-mobility disabilities. Includes comparisons of rural and urban populations.
Author(s): Jean P. Hall, Noelle K. Kurth, Kelsey S. Goddard
Citation: Disability and Health Journal, 15(1) Suppl., 101206
Date: 01/2022
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Strengths and Stressors in Region XI Head Start: The Role of Social Support and Economic Condition in the Well-Being of Children and Families from AIAN FACES 2019
Report examining the effects of social support and economic conditions on family well-being for American Indian and Alaska Native communities based on data from the 2019 American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (AIAN FACES). Provides data on cultural activities, food and housing, parental material hardships, supports, and income and discusses family well-being in relation to child physical and behavioral health.
Author(s): Sara Bernstein, Katie Gonzalez, Sharika Rakibullah, Lizabeth Malone, Jeffrey Harrington
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organizations: ACF Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, Mathematica
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Social Isolation and Loneliness Among Rural and Urban People with Disabilities
Explores the prevalence of social isolation and loneliness among people with disabilities. Examines data from the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) as well as the National Survey on Health and Disability (NSHD) to identify factors associated with social isolation and loneliness, including living in a rural location and transportation problems.
Author(s): Catherine Ipsen, Gilbert Gimm
Date: 11/2021
Sponsoring organization: Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities
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Psychosocial Predictors of Adverse Outcomes in Rural Heart Failure Caregivers
Results of a study of 114 rural and 426 urban caregivers in the southeastern United States, to examine whether social support, problem solving, and family function affected burden in caregivers of individuals with heart failure. Features demographic statistics and descriptive differences with breakdowns between urban and rural caregivers.
Author(s): Joan S. Grant, Lucinda J. Graven, Glenna Schluck, Laurie Abbott
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 21(3), 6497
Date: 07/2021
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Demographics and Disability Status of Adults Living Alone in Rural Areas
Policy brief examining differences in age and disability status of people who live alone in rural and urban areas. Describes health impacts of living alone and explores American Community Survey (ACS) data from 2014-2018 to represent demographic characteristics and prevalence of disabilities for rural and urban adults living alone.
Author(s): Jonathan Schroeder, Carrie Henning-Smith, Mariana Tuttle
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Looking at the Rural Homelessness Experience: Definitions, Data, and Solutions
Explains how homelessness impacts health. Features a Vermont organization's work using the evidence-based Housing First model to help people with mental health and substance use challenges and others who lack social supports and have housing needs.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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An Analysis of Suicide Risk Factors among Farmers in the Midwestern United States
Study examining psychological, social, and contextual risk factors for suicide among farmers. Draws data from 600 surveys of agricultural producers in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and South Dakota. Discusses rates of depression, anxiety, farming-specific stressors, social support, and coping strategies.
Author(s): Andrea Bjornestad, Courtney Cuthbertson, Jessie Hendricks
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(7), 3563
Date: 03/2021
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Social Isolation and Loneliness in Rural Communities and the Role of Cross-Sector Partnerships
Discussion with Carrie Henning-Smith around social isolation and loneliness in rural communities and obstacles to address these issues. Profiles how two Minnesota communities took steps to improve accessibility and social cohesion. Describes how cross-sector partnerships can promote recovery of rural communities after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: Build Healthy Places Network
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Understanding Challenges to Well-Being among Latina FarmWorkers in Rural Idaho Using in an Interdisciplinary, Mixed-Methods Approach
Identifies social, cultural, and workplace-related risk factors impacting well-being in the public and private spheres of 70 female farmworkers in southwestern Idaho. Focuses on 6 themes specific to rural geography and farmworker populations, including long working hours, pesticide exposure, lack of enforcement of regulatory protections, food security, childcare responsibilities, and social isolation.
Author(s): Cynthia L. Curl, Lisa Meierotto, Rebecca L. Som Castellano
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(1), 169
Date: 01/2021
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A Pandemic of Body, Mind, and Spirit: The Burden of "Social Distancing" in Rural Communities During an Era of Heightened Suicide Risk
Discusses the potentially heightened risk of suicide in rural communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Examines how decreased access to mental healthcare, economic stress, stigma, and social isolation could increase the risk of suicide in rural areas.
Author(s): Natalie B. Riblet, Susan P. Stevens, Bradley V. Watts, Brian Shiner
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(1), 207-210
Date: 01/2021
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