Topics: Population health

Federal Agencies’ Investment in Rural Cancer Control Fosters Partnerships between Researchers and Rural Communities

Researchers and rural communities are working together to address rural cancer prevention and control, with federal funding supporting a wide range of projects. From targeting health behaviors, to making cancer screening and vaccination more accessible, to increasing rural participation in clinical trials, efforts to reduce rural cancer burden are underway across the country.

On the list of leading causes of death, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, impacts millions of rural Americans and their quality of life. Though limited treatments are available for COPD, research indicates that pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) provides major benefits, yet is currently under-prescribed and facing challenges from COVID-19 and from reimbursement policies. Researchers discuss the potential that tele-PR might bring to rural areas, and rural healthcare leaders highlight the benefits of their PR programs for service areas.

Amanda Cohn, MD, Chief Medical Officer on CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, shares how the CDC is providing funding, creating resources, and partnering with other organizations to increase vaccination rates in underserved communities such as rural, tribal, and communities of color.

Bringing focus to rural housing quality as a social determinant of health, a healthcare organization joins a service organization and housing experts to explain housing’s impact on health and how these organizations can work together to improve rural population health.

With federal funds supporting its implementation in Oklahoma’s Marshallese community, a Community Health Worker model exemplifies how culturally sensitive education can improve healthcare access, health literacy, and health outcomes.

Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center (RCCHC) in rural Ahoskie, North Carolina, is using social media and creating graphics to answer common questions about vaccines and encourage its patients to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Kim Barber Tieman, program director for health and human services for the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, shares how her foundation set up a COVID-19 grant capture team and funded grant writers to help organizations navigate and apply for federal funding opportunities. In addition, her foundation worked with organizations and funded three mobile COVID testing units to better reach communities of color.

Dolores E. Roybal, executive director of Con Alma Health Foundation, discusses how her foundation partnered with other funders to provide almost $2 million in grants and created an advisory committee of immigrant-led, immigrant-serving organizations to address barriers limiting access to services.

To address the issue of food insecurity in the rural Minnesota communities it serves, Lakewood Health System created Lakewood Engage, a community-based program with multiple initiatives including a “Food Farmacy,” home delivery, and a farmers market.

Nurses are an integral part of the rural healthcare workforce. Registered nurses from across the country share their stories about their path to nursing, their accomplishments, and how they provide healthcare in their rural communities.

The Rural Monitor

Articles and resources on key rural health issues, from the Rural Health Information Hub

Topics: Population health

Federal Agencies’ Investment in Rural Cancer Control Fosters Partnerships between Researchers and Rural Communities

Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Benefiting Rural Individuals, Benefiting Rural Population Health

Vaccinating Rural America: Q&A with Dr. Amanda Cohn

CHWs At Work: Making a Difference for Oklahoma’s Marshallese Community

Community Health Center Addresses Vaccine Hesitancy through Social Media

Con Alma Health Foundation: Health Equity and COVID Relief

Lakewood Engage Tackles Food Insecurity in Rural Minnesota

Rural Registered Nurses: Stories of Caring for Their Communities