Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response.
Lessons for Human Services: Perspectives of Program Participants on Extreme Weather and Environmental Hazards
Examines how human services programs mitigate issues caused by environmental hazards and extreme weather for low-income and underresourced communities. Utilizes qualitative data from 41 participants, with a focus on impacts of trash and garbage, flooding, air and water quality, extreme heat, and other environmental conditions. Includes commentary about hazards specific to rural areas.
Author(s): Anne Junod, Pamela Winston, Maretta McDonald, Mikaela Tajo, Rebecca Marx
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Examines how human services programs mitigate issues caused by environmental hazards and extreme weather for low-income and underresourced communities. Utilizes qualitative data from 41 participants, with a focus on impacts of trash and garbage, flooding, air and water quality, extreme heat, and other environmental conditions. Includes commentary about hazards specific to rural areas.
Author(s): Anne Junod, Pamela Winston, Maretta McDonald, Mikaela Tajo, Rebecca Marx
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Strengthening Indigenous America: Building Resilience Through Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief
Summarizes key concepts from a July 2024 workshop that explored how to support the capacity of Indigenous American and tribal communities and nations to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and public health emergencies. Discusses tribal sovereignty; emergency management capacities and capabilities; relationships with partners and jurisdictions; Indigenous knowledge, best practices, and translation; and data and research.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Health Sciences Policy
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Summarizes key concepts from a July 2024 workshop that explored how to support the capacity of Indigenous American and tribal communities and nations to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and public health emergencies. Discusses tribal sovereignty; emergency management capacities and capabilities; relationships with partners and jurisdictions; Indigenous knowledge, best practices, and translation; and data and research.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Health Sciences Policy
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Lessons for Future Pandemics: Temporal Evolution and Rural-Urban Variations in the Impacts of the COVID-19 on Opioid Use Treatment
Presents a study highlighting the lessons learned from opioid use treatment programs operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Explores the impact of the pandemic on treatment services. Discusses the use of telehealth for both counseling and medication prescribing, as well as the challenges faced by patients trying to obtain treatment during the pandemic.
Author(s): Zhongyang He, Jonathan M. Heess, Travis Young, Zhen Lei
Citation: PLoS ONE, 19(9), e0310386
Date: 09/2024
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Presents a study highlighting the lessons learned from opioid use treatment programs operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Explores the impact of the pandemic on treatment services. Discusses the use of telehealth for both counseling and medication prescribing, as well as the challenges faced by patients trying to obtain treatment during the pandemic.
Author(s): Zhongyang He, Jonathan M. Heess, Travis Young, Zhen Lei
Citation: PLoS ONE, 19(9), e0310386
Date: 09/2024
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Resilience Planning: What Communities Can Do to Keep Hazards from Turning into Disasters
Provides guidance for communities of all sizes to integrate resilience objectives in their long-term planning. Discusses how to work through resilience planning and includes examples from a rural Southampton Township in New Jersey.
Author(s): David R. Mizzen
Date: 07/2024
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Provides guidance for communities of all sizes to integrate resilience objectives in their long-term planning. Discusses how to work through resilience planning and includes examples from a rural Southampton Township in New Jersey.
Author(s): David R. Mizzen
Date: 07/2024
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
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ISLAND: How to Create an Environment Where People Thrive
Podcast in which James Small of the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health discusses the ISLAND program, developed to help leadership improve inclusion, safety, laughs, accountability, nourishment, and direction in their organizations, especially those in small communities with limited resources. Includes transcript.
Date: 07/2024
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Fire Administration
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Podcast in which James Small of the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health discusses the ISLAND program, developed to help leadership improve inclusion, safety, laughs, accountability, nourishment, and direction in their organizations, especially those in small communities with limited resources. Includes transcript.
Date: 07/2024
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Fire Administration
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Rural Communities of Color Are Overrepresented among Community Disaster Resilience Zones
Analysis of the rurality of community disaster resilience zones (CDRZs), a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designation that offers priority federal support for preparation for and response to disasters. Includes data breakdown by remoteness and distribution of people of color. Discusses rates of philanthropic giving.
Author(s): Anne N. Junod, Violet Sulka/Hewes, Amy Rogin
Date: 04/2024
Sponsoring organization: Urban Institute
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Analysis of the rurality of community disaster resilience zones (CDRZs), a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designation that offers priority federal support for preparation for and response to disasters. Includes data breakdown by remoteness and distribution of people of color. Discusses rates of philanthropic giving.
Author(s): Anne N. Junod, Violet Sulka/Hewes, Amy Rogin
Date: 04/2024
Sponsoring organization: Urban Institute
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Health Care Coalitions: A Resource to Support Critical Access Hospital Emergency Preparedness Planning
Describes unique challenges Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) face regarding emergency preparedness planning. Presents findings from interviews with leaders from 8 statewide or regional healthcare coalitions (HCCs) regarding strategies and resources HCCs provide to support the CAH emergency preparedness planning process. Outlines the functions and roles of HCCs by the 4 Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) capability goals.
Author(s): John Gale, Karen Pearson, Rebecca Stearns
Date: 04/2024
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Describes unique challenges Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) face regarding emergency preparedness planning. Presents findings from interviews with leaders from 8 statewide or regional healthcare coalitions (HCCs) regarding strategies and resources HCCs provide to support the CAH emergency preparedness planning process. Outlines the functions and roles of HCCs by the 4 Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) capability goals.
Author(s): John Gale, Karen Pearson, Rebecca Stearns
Date: 04/2024
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Ready or Not 2024: Protecting the Public's Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism
Report explores the readiness of state public health systems to respond to emergencies, such as diseases, disasters, and bioterrorism. Focuses on measures such as hospital safety scores, vaccination rates, and water system maintenance, among others. Includes rural considerations throughout.
Author(s): Matt McKillop, Rhea K. Farberman, Dara Alpert Lieberman
Date: 03/2024
Sponsoring organization: Trust for America's Health
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Report explores the readiness of state public health systems to respond to emergencies, such as diseases, disasters, and bioterrorism. Focuses on measures such as hospital safety scores, vaccination rates, and water system maintenance, among others. Includes rural considerations throughout.
Author(s): Matt McKillop, Rhea K. Farberman, Dara Alpert Lieberman
Date: 03/2024
Sponsoring organization: Trust for America's Health
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Small Business Administration: Targeted Outreach about Disaster Assistance Could Benefit Rural Communities
Examines disaster loan trends in rural and urban areas using geocoded Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan application data for fiscal years 2017 through 2022. Describes challenges rural communities may face in seeking disaster assistance from SBA and actions SBA could take to address these challenges.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2024
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Examines disaster loan trends in rural and urban areas using geocoded Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan application data for fiscal years 2017 through 2022. Describes challenges rural communities may face in seeking disaster assistance from SBA and actions SBA could take to address these challenges.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2024
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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2023 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness
Results of telephone interviews and web surveys conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from February-March 2023, to assess preparedness actions, attitudes, and motivations in America. Graphic on page 36 shows a rurality preparedness summary, with breakdowns by rural and urban communities.
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: Federal Emergency Management Agency
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Results of telephone interviews and web surveys conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from February-March 2023, to assess preparedness actions, attitudes, and motivations in America. Graphic on page 36 shows a rurality preparedness summary, with breakdowns by rural and urban communities.
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: Federal Emergency Management Agency
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Last Updated: 4/2/2025