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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Social determinants of health

CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index (SVI)
Identifies communities that may need support to prepare for and recover from disasters. Offers rankings by census tract based on 16 U.S. Census indicators focused on four themes: socioeconomic status; household composition; race, ethnicity, and language; and housing and transportation.
Additional links: County Maps, Interactive Map
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Community Resilience Estimates
Offers state and county profiles focused on community resilience, the capacity of community members to deal with and recover from a disaster and its related health, social, and economic impacts. Identifies risk factors for households and individuals, such as poverty level, unemployment, language barriers, and health status, and shares the risk factor results by county within each state and by census tract within each county. Also provides access to a supplemental data set focused on social vulnerability and equity.
Additional links: Community Resilience Estimates Equity Supplement (CRE for Equity)
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Addressing the Health Needs of Rural Communities
A collection of Social Determinants of Health Academy trainings recorded in 2018 that explore issues impacting health in rural communities. Topics include collecting data in rural health centers and financing infrastructure development in rural areas.
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership
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Social Determinants of Health in Rural Communities Toolkit
Resources and best practices to help rural communities develop programs to address the social determinants of health (SDOH). Identifies program models and examples, and discusses implementation, evaluation, sustainability, and dissemination of program results.
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Multidimensional Index of Deep Disadvantage
Categorizes counties and cities based on an index that examines disadvantage based on health indicators, poverty, and social mobility data. Provides a profile for each county that includes its rural/urban status, population, and index-related indicators. Identifies the 100 most disadvantaged counties.
Additional links: Full Data Set, Understanding Communities of Deep Disadvantage: An Introduction
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organizations: Princeton University, University of Michigan
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Washington Health Data Visualization
An interactive tool providing access to maps, charts, and graphs on a variety of health data by topic for Washington State and counties. Topics include leading causes of death, opioid prescriptions, opioid morbidity and mortality, immunizations, HIV, social determinants of health, and population characteristics.
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Washington State Department of Health
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Culture Care Connection: Rural Minnesotans
Provides information and data to help healthcare providers recognize and understand the importance of culture when providing healthcare to populations living in rural Minnesota. Discusses population characteristics, health disparities, social determinants of health, social diversity, diet, medical care, mental health, and leading causes of death in rural areas of the state.
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Stratis Health
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Mental Health Explorer
An interactive web-based mapping tool focused on mental health. Provides access to data on mental health and wellness; the mental health workforce; and related social, behavioral, and health measures. Part of the HealthLandscape set of tools.
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: American Academy of Family Physicians
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PubMed Search: Rural Social Determinants of Health
Searches PubMed's collection of journal article citations on social determinants of health impacting rural residents. Includes coverage of poverty, unemployment, housing, environmental health, educational status, and health literacy.
Type: Literature Search
Sponsoring organization: U.S. National Library of Medicine
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Virginia Health Opportunity Index
Allows the user to examine health opportunities and challenges at the census tract level, by county, or by independent city for the state of Virginia. Utilizes 13 indicators addressing the social determinants of health. These indicators are grouped into four profiles or measures focused on the natural and social environment, consumer resources, economic opportunities, and access to health services.
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Virginia Department of Health: Office of Health Equity
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