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Community Vitality and Rural Healthcare – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Community Vitality and Rural Healthcare.

Rural Partners Network - U.S. Treasury Programs Relevant to the U.S. Agriculture Rural Development
Webinar recording from the Rural Partners Network with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Treasury to highlight programs for rural and tribal communities from the Treasury. Discusses funding related to housing, broadband, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and more. Transcript is available by clicking the three dots under the video and choosing "Show transcript."
Date: 07/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: U.S. Department of Treasury, USDA Rural Development
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Advancing Economic Development in Persistent-Poverty Communities
Examines census tracts to identify areas of "persistent poverty," defined as an area with at least a 20% poverty rate for at least 30 years. Discusses the distribution of the persistently poor population between rural and urban areas and highlights specific regions such as the Southeast, Tribal areas, and Appalachia. Outlines contributors to persistent poverty including workforce development, lack of infrastructure, race and ethnicity, economic conditions, and more. Presents 4 case studies, including 2 rural studies, to highlight overall themes and make recommendations for improving conditions in persistently poor locations. Interactive map provides information and data on persistent poverty counties.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Interactive Map
Author(s): August Benzow, Kenan Fikri, Joanne Kim, Daniel Newman
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Economic Innovation Group
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Healthcare Professionals Seek Social Connections When Moving to Rural Towns
Summarizes results of a 2014-2015 survey of 900 rural healthcare providers. Describes the factors that were most often cited by survey respondents as important to their decisions to practice and stay in a rural community.
Author(s): John Pender
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Mapping a New Terrain: 5 Principles for Equitable Rural Outdoor Recreational Economies
Offers suggestions for rural communities and Native nations looking at ways to improve economic prosperity, and population health and well-being through the development of natural assets and rural outdoor recreation. Topics cover ownership and control of recreation assets, building a resilient infrastructure, coordinating assets and stakeholder engagement, respect for the landscape, people and culture during the development process, and designing for equitable access and participation for all residents. Includes recommendations for community organizations, local government, and philanthropic organizations.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Aspen Institute, Community Strategies Group
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Linkages Between Rural Community Capitals and Healthcare Provision: A Survey of Small Rural Towns in Three U.S. Regions
Identifies community-level factors affecting the recruitment and retention of rural healthcare professionals through key informant interviews and a survey of healthcare professionals in 9 states across three regions: the Lower Mississippi Delta, the Southern Great Plains, and the Upper Midwest. Explores how the importance of these factors varies across regions and types of healthcare professionals and whether the importance of these factors differs between recruitment and retention.
Additional links: Report Summary
Author(s): John Pender, Maria Kuhns, Cindy Yu, Janice Larson, Shirley Huck
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Federal Credit Assistance and Grant Programs for Rural Businesses: In Brief
Provides an overview of selected federal credit assistance and grant programs that support rural businesses. Covers programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA), as well as the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).
Date: 02/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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The Ethnically and Racially Uneven Role of Water Infrastructure Spending in Rural Economic Development
Evaluates local government spending on water infrastructure between 1980 and 2015 in non-metropolitan areas to determine the impact on rural economies. Also considers how these measures change when accounting for the predominant race and ethnicity of the residents in these counties.
Author(s): J. Tom Mueller, Stephen Gasteyer
Citation: Nature Water, 1, 74-82
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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Building Rural Prosperity: Annual Report 2022
Report from the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development's Rural Partners Network, a group working across federal agencies to ensure that rural people have access to federal resources and a hand in determining how those resources are deployed in their communities. This report outlines the group's activities from 2022. Lists the selected Community Networks and ranks their priority areas which includes medical care. Describes a selection of projects from the Community Networks and also how federal dollars were invested in rural locations. Includes a timeline of activities and outcomes from the year.
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Partners Network
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Access to Jobs, Economic Opportunities, and Education in Rural Areas
Provides an overview of the challenges experienced in rural communities such as connectivity issues; access to goods, social services, and healthcare; and a lack of educational and economic opportunities. Includes implementation strategies for rural communities to evaluate, plan for, and improve accessibility, along with related case studies.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Transportation Research Board
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Exploring Multi-Sector Collaboration: A Playbook for New Rural Healthcare Models of Investment
A webinar recording highlighting a May 2022 report discussing how healthcare organizations can collaborate with economic stakeholders to improve population health. Discusses how to build partnership models by exploring case studies that use upstream health interventions in rural areas.
Author(s): Samantha Borow, Colleen Flynn, Ashley Hernandez, Rebecca Lemmons
Date: 11/2022
Type: Video/Multimedia
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Additional resources are available related to this guide. See the full list of resources by topic for:


Last Updated: 3/12/2024