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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Sustainability of programs

Awakening the Seeds In Native Youth: Native Farm to School Evaluation Report
Discusses the Native Farm to School project, a food systems initiative that supports tribal communities in integrating sustainable cultural practices, land stewardship, and traditional foods into their local Indigenous food systems. Provides details on a 2023-2025 USDA-FNS and Newman's Own Foundation grant that enabled 16 tribal communities across the U.S. to revitalize their food systems through school programming and community partnerships.
Author(s): Leah Simeon, Richard Elm-Hill, Cetan Christensen, et al.
Date: 12/2025
Sponsoring organization: First Nations Development Institute
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Community Health Workers and Rural Age-Friendly Care
Discusses the roles of community health workers (CHWs) in enhancing access, quality, and affordability of healthcare for older adults in rural areas. Describes challenges and opportunities for integrating CHWs into rural health systems. Offers policy and action recommendations to enable and support CHWs in improving healthcare for rural older adults.
Author(s): Elizabeth Eckstrom, Denise A. Hernadez, Lindsay Miller, Rebecca Yeboah
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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University of Rhode Island: Independent Feasibility Study into a Medical School at the University of Rhode Island
Assesses the feasibility of establishing a public medical school at the University of Rhode Island with the goal of addressing current and projected physician shortages in the state. Includes 4 recommendations addressing statewide integration, sustainable funding, and recruiting local students. Discusses rural throughout.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Tripp Umbach
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Supporting Resilient Food Systems: Navigating Challenges in U.S. Rural Communities
Examines the resiliency of rural food systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizes interview data from 38 community members representing services in education, food, healthcare, family services, and the Cooperative Extension System who have connections to the food system. Explores how rural communities navigated partnerships, supports, pandemic challenges, and organizational issues to promote food sustainability.
Author(s): Brianna Routh, Yoshie Sano, Leah Pylate, et al.
Citation: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 14(3), 305-322
Date: 07/2025
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Pathways to Sustainability: A Road Map for Child Psychiatry Access Programs
Discusses the adolescent mental health crisis in Indiana with a focus on workforce shortages and access to mental health treatment. Provides county-level data on geographic distribution of Indiana's child psychiatry workforce as well as the Be Happy mental health program. Includes information on various workforce program models, their effectiveness and level of sustainability, and potential application in Indiana.
Author(s): Mykayla Moore, Madison Bott, Hannah Maxey
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
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Wyoming's Ground Emergency Medical Services - A Primer on Operations, Costs and Potential Revenue
Report describes Wyoming's emergency medical services (EMS) economic landscape and makes recommendations to improve long-term financial sustainability. Details EMS costs and revenue across the state by demographics and geography.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Wyoming Department of Health
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Integrating Mental Health Support into Rural Libraries: Evaluation of the Libraries for Health (L4H) Initiative
Presents findings from an evaluation of the implementation of Libraries for Health (L4H), a pilot project embedding nonclinical adult mental health supports into ten libraries in rural Texas. Summarizes how libraries implemented L4H, barriers and facilitators of implementation, and efforts to to build and sustain the program and sustain their capacity to address patrons' mental health needs.
Additional links: Research Summary
Author(s): Lynsay Ayer, Karen Christianson, Ivy Todd, et al.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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Food Insecurity and Barriers to Supplemental Food Provision in the Mississippi Delta: A Qualitative Analysis
Examines the impact of supplemental food provisions (SFPs) in the predominately rural Mississippi Delta. Utilizes interview feedback from 29 SFP personnel to discuss SFP barriers, sustainability, and health initiatives.
Author(s): Sophie C. Hathaway
Citation: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 14(3), 293-304
Date: 06/2025
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Using the Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model to Identify Implementation Determinants of a Statewide Diabetes Learning Collaborative in Kentucky
Examines the impact of utilizing a learning collaborative to implement a diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) intervention. Utilizes interview feedback with collaborative participants to discuss issues such as organizational perspectives of DSMES, organizational and patient perspectives, and implementation and sustainability infrastructure. Discusses issues of implementing DSMES in rural areas of Kentucky.
Author(s): Aaron J. Kruse-Diehr, Borsika A. Rabin, Jessica Elliott, et al.
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 25, 735
Date: 05/2025
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Reestablishing and Reviving Great Lakes Intertribal Food Systems to Heal Tribal Communities
A video featuring tribal leaders of the Menominee Indian Tribe residing in Wisconsin and their efforts to reclaim traditional food sustenance practices. Discusses issues such as food insecurity in tribal communities and how traditional indigenous agriculture can improve health and sustainability. Transcript available below description.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medical College of Wisconsin
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