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

Indian Health Service Health Equity Report
Reports on efforts to advance health equity in the Indian Health Service (IHS). Discusses strategies and funding supporting access to facilities and services, quality of care, cultural appropriateness, wellness and disease prevention, and more.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Indian Health Service
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Effectiveness of Implementing Evidence-Based Approaches to Promote Physical Activity in a Midwestern Micropolitan Area Using a Quasi-Experimental Hybrid Type I Study Design
Evaluates the effectiveness of a physical activity intervention implemented in a micropolitan Iowa community over 24 months in 142 residents. Describes the community-based participatory research intervention design. Includes discussion of implementing urban-tested approaches in rural settings.
Author(s): Barbara Baquero, Nicole Novak, Daniel K. Sewell, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 24, 1082
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
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Text And Telephone Screening And Referral Improved Detection And Treatment Of Maternal Mental Health Conditions
Evaluates a text and telephone screening program against in-person screening practices to determine effectiveness in improving screening rates, identification of a disorder, and treatment rates for perinatal mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and intimate partner violence. Includes analysis of rurality.
Author(s): Constance Guille, Courtney King, Kathryn King, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 43(4)
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
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A Strategy To Support Perinatal Mental Health By Collaborating With Tribal Communities In Montana
Describes a community-based participatory approach with Montana tribal communities to create an online guide of mental health resources for prenatal to age three populations. Discusses the outcomes of collaboration, the Two-Eyed Seeing approach for health promotion, and opportunities for including cultural knowledge and values in future health promotion work.
Author(s): Amy Stiffarm, Stephanie Morton, Dawn Gunderson, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 43(4)
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
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Experiences with and Outcomes of Oral Health Care - Perspectives from Nationally Representative Data
Report discusses the outcomes and experiences with oral healthcare from patients across the United States surveyed in January - February 2023. Details patients experience with access to care, attitudes about co-location of oral healthcare and other types of care, value-based care, telehealth usage, and discrimination in healthcare, among other topics. Breaks down demographic data of survey participants by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and urbanicity, among other measures.
Author(s): Lisa J. Heaton, Morgan Santoro, Paige Martin, Eric P. Tranby
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
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Sherman Lecture: Are We Aiming at the Correct Targets to Reduce Disparities in Stroke Mortality? Celebration, Reflection, and Redirection
Discusses disparities in stroke deaths and opportunities for cardiovascular health improvement. Provides data on racial and ethnic, regional, and rural stroke disparities, and identifies approaches to stroke risk reduction in Black and rural populations.
Author(s): George Howard
Citation: Journal of the American Heart Association, 13(7), e031309
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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Rural-Specific Identity and Associations with Lifestyle Behaviors and Well-Being Among Rural Cancer Survivors
Examines how issues such as rural identity, attitudes toward rurality, and health beliefs impact rural cancer survivors' well-being. Utilizes survey data from 188 cancer survivors to discuss the relationship between sociocultural factors and quality of life, cancer fatalism, cancer information overload, rural identity and perceptions, and more.
Author(s): Kristina L. Tatum, Bonny B. Morris, Trevin E. Glasgow, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan: Draft for Public Comment
Draft of the 2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, which will serve as a guide for federal health information technology (HIT) activities. Outlines four goals and related objectives focused on improving access to electronic health information (EHI); delivering a better, more equitable healthcare experience; and modernizing the public health infrastructure. Describes how the federal government will use the plan to prioritize resources within federal agencies, align and coordinate federal HIT initiatives, signal priorities to the private sector, and benchmark and assess the progress of federal HIT initiatives.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Maternal and Infant Health: HHS Should Strengthen Processes for Measuring Program Performance
Provides an overview of the Healthy Start program, which aims to reduce rates of infant death, improve maternal health outcomes, and reduce racial and ethnic disparities. Describes Healthy Start grantees and participants served during the April 2019-March 2024 grant period, as well as services that grantees are expected to provide and changes to these expectations for the 2024-2029 grant period. Explores the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services's (HHS) efforts to measure program performance, the extent to which Healthy Start performance measures meet key attributes of effective measures, and HHS' efforts to align Healthy Start performance measures with those of related HHS programs. Includes information on Healthy Start programs and participants by organization type, race, and rurality. Offers recommendations regarding reviewing and coordinating Healthy Start performance measures across Healthy Start and related programs.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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North Central Regional Center for Rural Development 2023 Annual Report
Describes the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development's (NCRCRD) projects and resources in 2023. Covers funding initiatives, grants, collaborations, research, resilient economies, health and wellness, civic engagement, and more.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Central Regional Center for Rural Development
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