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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Social determinants of health

Indicators of Healthy Aging: A Guide to Explore Healthy Aging Data through Community Health Improvement
Provides an overview for local health departments (LHDs) and partners to assess the components of healthy aging in their communities through research, data, and practice. Focuses on tracking health indicators and the social determinants of health (SDOH) and how to use data while considering community-level factors that impact healthcare access, such as race/ethnicity, location/rurality, Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) status, and more.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Association of County and City Health Officials, Trust for America's Health
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Spatial Clustering of COVID-19 Mortality Rates across Counties and by Noncore, Micropolitan, and Metropolitan County Characteristics, December 2020–January 2021
Policy brief examining the county-level clusters of COVID-19 mortality when pandemic levels were at their peak, and how characteristics of counties with high and low mortality rates during the study period varied. Features county-level maps showing mortality rates, and statistics with breakdowns by noncore, micropolitan, and metropolitan locations.
Author(s): Whitney E. Zahnd, Khyathi Gadag, Fred Ullrich, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Tennessee Rural Health Care Task Force: Improving Rural Health Care Across Tennessee
Report from the Tennessee Rural Health Care Task Force. Offers recommendations to the state in the areas of access to care, workforce development, and social drivers of health. Discusses rural health research and advocacy, health insurance, telemedicine, workforce training, grants and loans, and more.
Author(s): Morgan McDonald, David Dill
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
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Advancing Health and Resilience in the Gulf of Mexico Region: Roadmap for Progress
Describes the current state of health and community resilience in the Gulf of Mexico region and identifies roadblocks to progress. Offers policy recommendations focused on addressing critical gaps in data and funding community resilience. Presents a road map for improving health and community resilience in the Gulf region. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Committee on Progress Toward Human Health and Community Resilience in the Gulf of Mexico Region
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Self-Assessed Health Status and Obesity Vulnerability in Rural Louisiana: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
Examines the self-assessed health of rural residents in Louisiana utilizing the obesity vulnerability index, which factors in gender, race, education, caregiver status, exercise, and grocery store choice as potential risk factors for obesity. Provides 2021 data of residents from 3 rural counties, with obesity vulnerability index indicators broken down by fair, good, or excellent health status.
Author(s): Santosh Pathak, Hua Wang, Katherine Seals, Naveen C. Adusumilli, Denise Holston
Citation: PLoS One, 18(6)
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
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Efforts by Critical Access Hospitals to Increase Health Equity Through Greater Engagement with Social Determinants of Health
Examines the ways Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) engage in upstream social determinant of health (SDOH) efforts to improve community health. Analyzes CAH and non-CAH programs that utilize screening, in-house strategies, and external partnerships to address SDOH. Discusses the impacts of SDOH policy on CAHs in rural communities.
Author(s): Bethany Lemont, Neeraj Puro, Berkeley Franz, Cory E. Cronin
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(4), 728-736
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
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Maniilaq Health Center: Providing High-Quality Obstetric Care to American Indian/Alaska Native People in Rural Kotzebue, Alaska
Results of a case study highlighting a hospital providing care to rural American Indian and Alaska Native patients in Alaska. Examines the maternity care context with attention to the intersection of race and geography with social determinants of health to inform clinical and policy efforts to improve rural maternal health and health equity in Alaska and beyond.
Author(s): Hailey A. Baker, Katy Backes Kozhimannil, Bridget Basile Ibrahim
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Rural Healthy People 2030, featuring Timothy Callaghan and Morgan Kassabian
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast focused on the Rural Healthy People 2030 project, featuring Timothy Callaghan and Morgan Kassabian. Discusses the rural health priorities covered by this project and changes in rural health concerns over time. Also describes the methods used for collecting insights from rural stakeholders.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Rural Health Challenges and Opportunities
Presentation slides discussing rural health challenges, including access and affordability, poor health, and underlying factors driving the stress on rural health systems. Outlines policy opportunities to improve affordability and create incentives for improved health.
Author(s): Timothy McBride
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy and Economics Research, RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Characterizing Social Insecurity in a Rural North Carolina Emergency Department
Results of a study exploring, characterizing, and quantifying the social insecurity profile of emergency department patients at a rural teaching hospital in southeastern North Carolina with a large Native American population. Uses data from a survey questionnaire administered in May and June 2018, focusing on food insecurity, transportation insecurity, and exposure to violence.
Author(s): Elizabeth Gignac, Godwin Y. Dogbey, Aleksandr Pevtsov, et al.
Citation: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 24(3), 538–546
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
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