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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Wellness, health promotion, and disease prevention

Developing Community Partnerships and Authentically Engaging Youth to Prevent Substance Use: Successes from the Pyramid Coalition in Hidalgo County, New Mexico
Explores the Pyramid Coalition, a Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program initiative, in rural Hidalgo County, New Mexico. Discusses the coalition's work in preventing youth substance use and highlights best practices for engaging youth in rural and frontier communities.
Author(s): Christina Johnson, Joni Kerr
Citation: Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 32(6S), S181-S184
Date: 11/2026
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Building a Rural, Coalition-Based Approach to Youth Substance Use Prevention: The Drug Free Dickson Coalition Model
Presents a rural coalition-based initiative to address youth substance use in Dickson County, Tennessee. Details a coalition, including local government, schools, healthcare providers, faith-based institutions, and law enforcement, among others, that works to engage youth across the county using evidence-based strategies.
Author(s): Karrie R. Thompson
Citation: Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 32(6S), S185-S188
Date: 11/2026
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Supporting Agricultural Workers, and Their Mental Health
Short video discusses mental health struggles in the agricultural community and explores the story of a ranching family that lost a loved one to suicide. Details the Farm State of Mind campaign, which offers peer support and counseling.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Pew
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Transportation Walking Among US Adults With and Without Transportation Insecurity, 2022 National Health Interview Survey
Reports on a study describing transportation walking among adults with and without transportation insecurity, using data on 25,889 adults. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.
Author(s): Graycie Soto, Miriam E. Van Dyke, Jasmine Y. Nakayama, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 23
Date: 09/2026
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Cooperative Extension in Transition: Trends Through 2024
Reports on funding and program areas of Cooperative Extension programs from 1915 through 2024. Details how Cooperative Extension programs support agricultural education, nutrition, community development, and other topics relevant to rural populations.
Additional links: Report Summary
Author(s): Tatiana Borisova, Keith Fuglie, Benjamin Garber, Sun Ling Wang
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Changing Patterns of Specialty Care for Diabetic Foot Ulcers among Rural and Urban Veterans Following the VA MISSION Act
Presents a study on older veterans' access to specialty care for diabetic foot ulcers under the MISSION Act in rural and urban areas. Explores veterans' access both inside and outside of the VA and breaks down utilization data by specialty, such as podiatry, infectious disease, vascular surgery, and endocrinology.
Author(s): Hiroyuki Suzuki, Mary Vaughan-Sarrazin, Michael Ohl, et al.
Citation: International Wound Journal, 23(9), e71039
Date: 09/2026
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Using the Machine Learning Algorithm XGBoost to Understand the Correlates of Wearing Hearing Protection in Central States' Agricultural Producers
Examines correlates to the use of hearing protection among agricultural producers in seven states using data from the Farm and Ranch Health and Safety Survey collected in 2018, 2020, and 2023. Uses a machine learning algorithm to identify correlative factors to the use of hearing protection, such as sex, type of agricultural operation, and operator role, among others.
Author(s): Cheryl L. Beseler, Ellen G. Duysen, Risto H. Rautiainen
Citation: American Journal of Audiology, 35(3), 955-964
Date: 09/2026
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The Association Between School Physical Education Practices and School Level Socioeconomic Status
Examines the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and school physical education (PE) practices. Utilizes School Health Map and National Center for Education Statistics data to analyze high-SES, moderate-SES, and low-SES schools according to PE practices as well as location of city, suburb, town, or rural.
Author(s): Sam Biver, Ben D. Kern, Hans van der Mars, Enbal Shacham
Citation: Journal of School Health, 96(9), e70217
Date: 09/2026
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Association Between Transportation Access and Self-Rated Health among Older Adults with Disabilities
Analyzes the association between access to transportation and self-rated health for 257 community-dwelling older adults. Offers data on study participant characteristics by consistent and inconsistent transportation access, including a comparison of micropolitan/non-core and metropolitan residence.
Author(s): Jihyeong Jeong, Jason R. Falvey, Amanda J. Lehning
Citation: Journal of Transport & Health, 51
Date: 09/2026
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Community-Based Participatory Approaches to Improve Diet Quality and Food Security in Rural Appalachia: Outcomes from the Laurel HARVEST Study
Examines the community-based participatory research (CBPR) intervention, Laurel HARVEST (Helping Appalachia Restore a Vibrant Food Environment for Self-Sufficiency, Together), on food security and nutritional quality in rural Appalachian areas of Kentucky. Analyzes follow-up data from 147 participants in the intervention and provides results related to fruit and vegetable intake, healthy eating index (HEI) scores, food security, and more.
Author(s): Makenzie Barr-Porter, Courtney Luecking, Stacey Slone, et al.
Citation: Nutrients, 18(17), 2813
Date: 08/2026
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