Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

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

Achieving Health Equity in Preventive Services: Evidence Summary
Summarizes research on achieving health equity in preventive services including screening, counseling, medication, and management for cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes in adult patients by identifying the effects of impediments and barriers that create disparities, and the effectiveness of strategies and interventions to reduce them. Study reports barriers that resulted in or explained a disparity in preventive service, and the effectiveness of the clinician-patient relationship, health information technology, and health system intervention. Studies included African American, Hispanic, Korean and Chinese American, and rural and low-income patients.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2019
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
view details
A Health Equity Approach to Obesity Efforts: Proceedings of a Workshop
Proceedings of a workshop focused on health equity in demographic groups with a higher risk of obesity and how to address those issues in obesity treatment and prevention efforts. Covers disparities in obesity prevalence, including for rural areas and American Indian/Alaska Natives, social determinants of health, community and public health approaches for preventing and treating obesity, and effective healthcare interventions.
Additional links: Read Online: Full Proceedings, Read Online: Summary, June 2019
Author(s): Roundtable on Obesity Solutions
Date: 12/2019
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
view details
It's Time to Connect Rural Health Equity with Community and Economic Development
Discusses research on the relationship of health equity with rural and economic development. Presents resources demonstrating innovative projects to help people in rural communities live healthy lives.
Author(s): Katharine Ferguson, Katrina Badger
Date: 11/2019
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
view details
A Model for Assessing Necessary Conditions for Rural Health Care's Mobile Health Readiness: Qualitative Assessment of Clinician-Perceived Barriers
Explores organizational readiness to adopt mobile health (mHealth) technologies such as Fitbit, My Fitness Pal, and Apple iWatch, among others. Reports on interviews with 13 clinicians from different specialty areas and their perceived barriers to adopt mHealth technologies, including unfamiliarity, clinician time, and electronic medical record and data keeping. Identifies a gap between patient usage versus healthcare organization usage of mHealth and presents a needs assessment model to successfully implement mHealth in unique ways to improve rural healthcare delivery.
Author(s): Bryan Weichelt, Casper Bendixsen, Timothy Patrick
Citation: JMIR MHealth UHealth, 7(11), e11915
Date: 11/2019
view details
Evaluation of the Million HeartsĀ® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model: Second Annual Report
Evaluates the first two years of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model to determine whether, and how, it reduces first-time strokes, heart attacks, and Medicare spending. Covers participant characteristics, including rural or urban status and organization type; implementation of the model; short- and long-term impacts on beneficiaries; and the potential mechanisms that may explain observed impacts.
Author(s): Greg Peterson, Linda Barterian, Keith Kranker, et al.
Date: 11/2019
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Mathematica Policy Research
view details
Area Deprivation as a Risk Factor for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infection in Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis
Examines the prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infection (MRSA) in children with cystic fibrosis, studying the relationship between MRSA rates and socio-environmental conditions. Analyzes statistical data of patients in Alabama, comparing rurality and area deprivation to rates of MRSA. Discusses the rates of infection in rural and underserved areas as a consideration for prevention and treatment strategies.
Author(s): Gabriela R. Oates, William T. Harris, Steven M. Rowe, et al.
Citation: The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 38(11), e285-e289
Date: 11/2019
view details
Loneliness in the United States: A 2018 National Panel Survey of Demographic, Structural, Cognitive, and Behavioral Characteristics
Highlights a cross-sectional study on loneliness in adults in the U.S. Aims to evaluate rates of loneliness by age group, sex, and urban or non-urban location, as well as by several other measures. Bases conclusions on the results of a national survey of 20,096 adults.
Author(s): Liana DesHarnais Bruce, Joshua S. Wu, Stuart L. Lustig, Daniel W. Russell, Douglas A. Nemecek
Citation: American Journal of Health Promotion, 33(8), 1123-1133
Date: 11/2019
view details
Nutrition Assistance Programs: Agencies Could Do More to Help Address the Nutritional Needs of Older Adults
Report focuses on the shortcomings of the federal nutrition guidelines in meeting the nutritional needs of older adults. Bases recommendations on interviews with older adults in both rural and urban areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 11/2019
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Intake with Reservation and Off-Reservation Kindergarten Students in Nevada
Presents an overview of Veggies for Kids, a nutrition education program used with American Indian kindergarten students attending schools on reservations and kindergarten students attending schools next to a Nevada reservation. Examines the impact this program had on the students' knowledge of nutritional concepts and practicing healthy behaviors.
Author(s): Staci Emm, Jessica Harris, Judy Halterman, Sarah Chvilicek, Carol Bishop
Citation: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 9(Suppl. 2), 215-224
Date: 11/2019
view details
Geographic Disparities Associated with Travel to Medical Care and Attendance in Programs to Prevent/Manage Chronic Illness Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Texas
Examines 2,108 rural and urban middle-aged and older adults in Texas with one or more chronic conditions who travel long distances to receive medical care and their utilization of programs focused on prevention and chronic disease management. Participants from 9 counties responded to health assessment surveys regarding their number of doctor's visits within the previous year, distance to receive medical care, residential status, and other personal characteristics.
Author(s): Matthew L. Smith, Samuel D. Towne Jr., Caroline D Bergeron, et al.
Citation: Rural and Remote Health,19(4), 5147
Date: 11/2019
view details