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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Social determinants of health

Geography, Rurality, and Community Distress: Deaths Due to Suicide, Alcohol-Use, and Drug-Use among Colorado Veterans
Explores the connection between distressed communities and mortality disparities in the Colorado veteran population. Utilizes 2009-2020 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) to examine suicide, alcohol, and drug related mortalities, with demographic data broken down by sex, age, race/ethnicity, marital status, distressed community index (DCI), and frontier, rural, or urban location. Includes county-level maps showing DCI and rurality.
Author(s): Talia L. Spark, Colleen E. Reid, Rachel Sayko Adams, et al.
Citation: Injury Epidemiology, 10, 8
Date: 02/2023
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Wisconsin State Health Improvement Plan: 2023-2027 Summary
Provides an overview on the collaboration and partnerships to create the state health improvement plan, with a focus on social and community conditions, safety, social belonging and wellness, and mental health. Includes strategies specific to rural areas as well as tribal and local health departments.
Additional links: Implementation Guide
Date: 02/2023
Sponsoring organization: Wisconsin Department of Health Services
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Social Determinants of Cardiovascular Health: A Longitudinal Analysis of Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in US Counties From 2009 to 2018
Analyzes how social determinants of health (SDOH) are related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality over time. Analyzes county-level data of 17 SDOH from 2009 to 2018 which are further broken down by rural versus urban status.
Author(s): Heejung Son, Donglan Zhang, Ye Shen, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Heart Association, 12(2)
Date: 01/2023
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Arizona Rural and Public Health Policy Forum Session Recordings
Lists recorded sessions from the 2023 Arizona Rural & Public Health Policy Forum. Includes topics such as health equity, social determinants of health, tribal health, policy updates, information technology, healthcare cost, and more.
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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Building a Better Wisconsin: Investing in the Health and Well-Being of Wisconsinites - 2023 Governor's Health Equity Council Report
Provides an overview of the Wisconsin Governor's Health Equity Council 2023 recommendations which are focused on upstream health interventions related to the economic, social, and physical environment, with specific attention to health and community services, education and housing, justice, governance, and family-sustaining fiscal policy. Includes strategies specific to rural communities as well as county-level maps on health outcomes and percentage of children in poverty.
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: Wisconsin Department of Health Services
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Pre-Pandemic Geographic Access to Hospital-Based Telehealth for Cancer Care in the United States
Explores the availability of telehealth and oncology services across geographic and sociodemographic domains before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizes 2019 and 2020 data sources to examine hospital characteristics by telehealth and oncology services, with information on hospital ownership, number of hospital beds, Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) status, presence of Rural Health Clinic (RHC) co-located at hospital, and more. Includes availability of telehealth, oncology, and hospital services broken down by county; HPSA status; income, average age, and race/ethnicity of residents; ratio of population to primary care physicians; rural noncore, rural micropolitan, or urban status; and more.
Author(s): David I. Shalowitz, Peiyin Hung, Whitney E. Zahnd, Jan Eberth
Citation: PLoS One, 18(1)
Date: 01/2023
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Shorter Time to Treatment Is Associated With Improved Survival in Rural Patients With Breast Cancer Despite Other Adverse Socioeconomic Factors
Analyzes the relationship between time to treatment initiation (TTI) and overall survival (OS) of cancer patients. Examines 1,205,031 women with breast cancer from 2004 to 2012 by socioeconomic and demographic information, with data further broken down by rural versus urban location.
Author(s): Minh-Tri Nguyen, Wei Wei, Gregory Cooper, Alok A. Khorana, Suneel D. Kamath
Citation: Oncology, 37(1), 19-24
Date: 01/2023
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Engaging Rural Communities to Incorporate Social Determinants in Developing Strategies to Improve Access to Health Care in the Missouri Bootheel Counties
Presents a study on how social determinants of health affect healthcare access in several rural counties in Missouri. Discusses the perceived barriers to care in the rural "Bootheel" counties, such as economic issues, lack of health insurance coverage, and lack of coordinated care, among others.
Author(s): Ashish Shrestha, Katherine Stamatakis, Janice Ballard
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 23, 7678
Date: 01/2023
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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
Sponsoring organization: Health Management Associates
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Rural Healthy People 2030
Presents literature reviews of 20 rural public health priority topics identified through a survey of rural stakeholders. Reviews the scope of each topic, discusses related goals and objectives from the national Healthy People 2030 initiative, identifies affected populations, highlights interventions and solutions, and more. Topics include mental health, substance use, social determinants of health, access to care, quality of care, chronic health conditions, and COVID-19.
Author(s): Alva O. Ferdinand, Jane N. Bolin, Timothy Callaghan, et al.
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
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