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Rural Health Information Hub

Social Determinants of Health for Rural People – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Social Determinants of Health for Rural People.

Climate Change, Health, and Equity: A Guide for Local Health Departments
Offers suggestions for ways in which local public health departments can integrate climate change and health equity into practice. Examines the effects of climate change on rural communities and includes sections on health impacts of climate change, health benefits of climate action, and the role of public health agencies.
Author(s): Linda Rudolph, Catherine Harrison, Laura Buckley, Savannah North
Date: 2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: American Public Health Association, Center for Climate Change & Health, Public Health Institute
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Balance of State Continuum of Care Toolkit
A resource for Continuums of Care (CoCs), which are community-based local planning groups that work to address homelessness. Focuses on statewide CoCs and CoCs that serve nonmetropolitan areas and small cities. Discusses the unique challenges these areas face and highlights successful approaches to address these challenges.
Date: 2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Growing Up Rural in America
Presents a report on the state of childhood in rural America. Details challenges rural children face, such as poverty, adolescent pregnancy, and food access issues. Features rural-urban comparisons and state-by-state data.
Date: 2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Save the Children
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Human Intestinal Parasite Burden and Poor Sanitation in Rural Alabama
Reports on the presence of intestinal parasites in Lowndes County, Alabama, a location selected for this study due to high poverty, use of open-sewage systems, and past hookworm burden. Findings based on participant interviews and stool, serum, and soil samples. Includes data on parasite infection, participant gender, raw sewage in the home, asthma or other lung disease, and diarrhea in the past week.
Author(s): Megan L. McKenna, Shannon McAtee, Patricia E. Bryan, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 97(5), 1623-1628
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
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The Share of Households With Wired Broadband Remains Below 60 Percent in Nearly 800 Rural Counties, Mostly in Poor and Remote Regions
Map identifying rural counties where 60% or more households had wired broadband in 2010 and 2016.
Date: 11/2017
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Deep Poverty Rates by Metro/Nonmetro Residence, 1989-2016
Line chart comparing metropolitan and nonmetro deep poverty rates, based on 1990-2013 Current Population Survey data combined with 2007-2016 American Community Survey data.
Date: 10/2017
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Confronting Adverse Childhood Experiences to Improve Rural Kids' Lifelong Health
Highlights a western North Carolina school district and a Native American tribe in Wisconsin that are working to address adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Provides an overview of the impact ACEs have on health and provides data on ACE exposure among rural adults.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Social Determinants of Health: A Quick Reference Guide for State Offices of Rural Health and State and Territorial Health Officials
Provides an overview of social determinants of health (SDOH) in rural communities and lists partners, resources, and national-level initiatives related to 4 significant SDOH in rural areas: housing, transportation, education, and food insecurity. Intended to serve as a starting point and guide for rural organizations that wish to address SDOH through multi-sector collaboration.
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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Medical-Legal Partnership Addresses Social Determinants of Health
Explores how FirstHealth of the Carolinas, a private, nonprofit healthcare network based in Pinehurst, North Carolina, reduced emergency department utilization and hospital readmission rates systemwide through the use of transitional care clinics (TCCs) and medical-legal partnerships (MLPs). Highlights how addressing non-medical factors can affect health outcomes.
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Housing and the Role of Hospitals
Provides an overview of the role of housing in health, and discusses what hospitals can can do to address housing instability as a social determinant of health. Offers five case studies of innovative hospital and health system programs related to housing, including a rural California program that provides safe transitional housing to chronically homeless patients after discharge from the hospital.
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: American Hospital Association, Health Research & Educational Trust
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Additional resources are available related to this guide. See the full list of resources by topic for:


Last Updated: 3/26/2024