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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Social determinants of health

The State of Obesity 2024: Better Policies for a Healthier America
Presents data on adult and childhood obesity rates, with breakdowns by state and select demographic characteristics. Examines current and emerging policies, provides funding opportunities, and outlines recommended policy actions. Includes a special feature about food environments and systems.
Author(s): Molly Warren, Madison West
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: Trust for America's Health
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Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S. 2024
Explores maternal healthcare access and provides county-level U.S. maps that show maternity care deserts, hospitals that offer obstetric (OB) care, distribution of OB providers, travel time to maternity care, chronic conditions of birthing people, social drivers of health, and more. Includes rural versus urban characteristics of the maternal health workforce as well as access and policy discussions specific to rural areas.
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: March of Dimes
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Household Food Security in the United States in 2023
Reports on household food security, food expenditures, and use of federal food and nutrition assistance programs in 2022. Includes food insecurity statistics for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.
Additional links: Statistical Supplement, Summary
Author(s): Matthew P. Rabbitt, Madeline Reed-Jones, Laura J. Hales, Michael P. Burke
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Building a Regional Healthcare Presence and Partnerships, with Krista Postai and Jason Wesco
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Krista Postai, CEO of Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK), and Jason Wesco, CHC/SEK's President and Chief Strategy Officer. Focuses on the community health center's journey from a single facility operating out of a trailer to having 18 locations across the region that leverage community partnerships to address health-related social needs.
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Pharmacy Accessibility and Social Vulnerability
Provides information on pharmacy deserts in socially vulnerable communities. Includes county characteristics of pharmacy deserts as well as U.S. maps showing the relationship of social vulnerability and primary care with pharmacy deserts.
Author(s): Giovanni Catalano, Muhammad Muntazir Mehdi Khan, Odysseas P. Chatzipanagiotou, Timothy M. Pawlik
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(8)
Date: 08/2024
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Description of Census-Tract-Level Social Determinants of Health in Cancer Surveillance Data
Examines cancer incidence, stage at diagnosis, and mortality by cancer site, utilizing census tract-level data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) specialized database. Includes data on rurality and other sociodemographic characteristics, with rural-urban breakdowns by race, ethnicity, and persistent poverty.
Author(s): Manami Bhattacharya, Kathleen A Cronin, Tracey L Farrigan
Citation: Journal of the National Cancer Institute Monographs, 2024(65), 152-161
Date: 08/2024
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Creating a Financially Prosperous Ohio: Strategies to Improve Family Financial Security
Discusses the connection between financial insecurity and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in Ohio. Provides information on social determinants of health, including median wages, childhood poverty, parental incarceration, housing, education and employment, racial discrimination, and more. Includes county-level map showing percent of households below Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Discusses policy actions to help improve financial self-sufficiency for Ohio families.
Author(s): Jacob Santiago, Carrie Almasi, Robin Blair-Ackison, et al.
Date: 08/2024
Sponsoring organization: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
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Data Snapshot: Health in Rural and Appalachian Ohio
Provides data on drivers and outcomes of health in rural and Appalachian Ohio. Focuses on mortality rates, access to broadband and exercise infrastructure, insurance coverage, poverty, behavioral health, chronic conditions, and supply of primary care, dental, and mental healthcare providers.
Date: 08/2024
Sponsoring organization: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
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Examining Rurality and Social Determinants of Health among Women with GDM: A 15-Year Comprehensive Population Analysis
Examines maternal demographic characteristics, including rurality, and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) development over time. Utilizes birth record vital statistics of 589,605 women with live births in Kansas from 2005 to 2019. Compares rural and urban trends in maternal overweight, obesity, and GDM.
Author(s): Umama Ali, Laila Cure, Rhonda K. Lewis, et al.
Citation: BMC Women's Health, 24, 467
Date: 08/2024
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Geospatial Analysis of the Social Determinants of Health of Participants of a Diabetes Management Program to Evaluate Enrollment of Vulnerable Populations
Details the creation of the the Diabetes Burden Index (DBI) tool, which utilizes social determinant of health data including income, educational attainment, and distance to the nearest grocery store, pharmacy, and hospital, to estimate the the burden of managing diabetes and other chronic conditions by ZIP code in South Carolina. Discusses how identifying at-risk populations can improve diabetes management interventions and reduce diabetes burden in underserved communities.
Author(s): Samantha Kanny, William Cummings, Patricia Carbajales, Janet Evatt, Windsor Westbrook Sherrill
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 21, 240068
Date: 08/2024
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