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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: The South

Prevalence and Mortality of Heart Disease and Related Conditions: Disparities Affecting the South, Rural Areas, and American Indian and Alaska Natives
Policy brief describing trends in the prevalence of stroke, angina or coronary heart disease, and heart attack from 2011-2015, and assessing trends in mortality for heart disease and associated conditions from 2006-2016. Explores whether disease-related mortality and prevalence of disease varied across region, rurality, and time period. Features statistics including mortality from congestive heart failure, stroke and cerebrovascular disease, and ischemic heart disease in 2016, with breakdowns by 6 levels of population density.
Author(s): Samuel D. Towne, Jr., Timothy H. Callaghan, Alva O. Ferdinand, et al.
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
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Rural Hospitals: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Describes the conditions facing rural hospitals and their communities contributing to the high rate of rural hospital closure. Discusses state and federal legislation, policies, and programs developed to support rural hospitals. Provides data for 15 Southern states including their state and rural populations, percentage of population uninsured, Medicaid expansion status, percentage at high financial risk, and number of rural hospital closures.
Author(s): Nick Bowman
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southern Legislative Conference of The Council of State Governments
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HIV in the Southern United States
Issue brief discussing the HIV epidemic in the South. Highlights the increased number of new HIV diagnoses in suburban and rural areas of the South compared to other regions in the U.S. Covers factors contributing to the HIV epidemic in the South and includes information on how to address these issues in rural communities.
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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The State of Latino Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review
Highlights programs and policies that may improve neighborhood health equity in U.S. Latino communities. Discusses Latino migration to rural areas in the South and Midwest and the need for affordable housing and green space policies to promote health and wellbeing.
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Salud America
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Influencing Cardiovascular Health Habits in the Rural, Deep South: Results of a Cluster Randomized Trial
Study examining public health interventions through churches to address cardiovascular disease (CVD) among African American adults in the rural South. Describes risk factors for CVD, social determinants of health, and CVD disparities in rural and African American communities. Analyzes sociodemographic and health data for 229 participants in a health promotion study.
Author(s): Laurie S. Abbott, Elizabeth H. Slate, Jennifer L. Lemacks
Citation: Health Education Research, 34(2), 200-208
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
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Characteristics of Communities Served by Rural Hospitals Predicted to be at High Risk of Financial Distress in 2019
Uses updated results from the Financial Distress Index to compare communities that are home to rural hospitals at high financial risk with areas having rural hospitals not at high risk. Features statistics including demographics, socioeconomics, and health status, with breakdowns by location in the South, the Midwest, the Northeast, and the West.
Author(s): Sharita R. Thomas, George H. Pink, Kristin Reiter
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Poverty Rates in Rural and Urban Areas Vary Across U.S. Regions
Bar chart showing rural and urban poverty rates by region for the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West, based on 2013-2017 American Community Survey data.
Date: 04/2019
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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The Health Equity Implementation Framework: Proposal and Preliminary Study of Hepatitis C Virus Treatment
Describes an implementation framework used to evaluate barriers to hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment for elderly, rural, Black, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) patients in the South. Identifies barriers and facilitators for HCV treatment. Discusses how the Health Equity Implementation Framework can be used to help research and address health disparities.
Author(s): Eva N. Woodward, Monica M. Matthieu, Uchenna S. Uchendu, Shari Rogal, JoAnn E. Kirchner
Citation: Implementation Science, 14(1), 26
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
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Assessing Differences in CDC-Funded HIV Testing by Urbanicity, United States, 2016
Explores the rural, urban, and metropolitan differences in 2016 HIV testing funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Includes demographic and geographic information for individuals tested for, or newly diagnosed with, HIV and analyzes data on linkages and referrals to HIV care and prevention services.
Author(s): Deesha Patel, Nicole Taylor-Aidoo, Angèle Marandet, Janet Heitgerd, Barbara Maciak
Citation: Journal of Community Health, 44(1), 95-102
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
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Adaptation of an Evidence-Based Cardiovascular Health Intervention for Rural African Americans in the Southeast
Explores the process of adapting an evidence-based intervention to address factors contributing to cardiovascular disease in African Americans living in the rural southeastern U.S. Uses community-based participatory research via focus groups, interviews, web-based surveys, and weekly meetings with community and academic stakeholders to identify findings and integrate them into the structure of the intervention.
Author(s): Kiana D. Bess, Leah Frerichs, Tiffany Young, et al.
Citation: Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 13(4), 385-396
Date: 2019
Type: Document
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