Social Determinants of Health for Rural People – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Social Determinants of Health for Rural People.
PLACES: Local Data for Better Health
Interactive mapping system providing chronic disease related data at the county, place, census tract, and ZIP code level. Covers measures related to health status, health outcomes, prevention, health risk behaviors, health-related social needs, and social determinants of health.
Additional links: Compare Measures, Interactive Map, PLACES Data Portal
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Interactive mapping system providing chronic disease related data at the county, place, census tract, and ZIP code level. Covers measures related to health status, health outcomes, prevention, health risk behaviors, health-related social needs, and social determinants of health.
Additional links: Compare Measures, Interactive Map, PLACES Data Portal
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Roots of Health Inequity Project
Offers a web-based course and learning collaborative designed for the local public health workforce to explore the social determinants of health and the root causes of inequity in the distribution of disease, illness, and death. Participants are responsible for identifying underlying themes and discussing how they relate to specific organizations and communities.
Sponsoring organizations: National Association of County and City Health Officials, National Institutes of Health
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Offers a web-based course and learning collaborative designed for the local public health workforce to explore the social determinants of health and the root causes of inequity in the distribution of disease, illness, and death. Participants are responsible for identifying underlying themes and discussing how they relate to specific organizations and communities.
Sponsoring organizations: National Association of County and City Health Officials, National Institutes of Health
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State Approaches for Addressing Rural Social Determinants of Health
Recommends state and federal tactics to improve social determinants of health and address rural health disparities. Covers transportation, broadband, income, and educational attainment.
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Recommends state and federal tactics to improve social determinants of health and address rural health disparities. Covers transportation, broadband, income, and educational attainment.
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index (SVI)
Identifies communities that may need support to prepare for and recover from disasters. Offers rankings by census tract based on 16 U.S. Census indicators focused on four themes: socioeconomic status; household composition; race, ethnicity, and language; and housing and transportation.
Additional links: County Maps, Interactive Map
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Identifies communities that may need support to prepare for and recover from disasters. Offers rankings by census tract based on 16 U.S. Census indicators focused on four themes: socioeconomic status; household composition; race, ethnicity, and language; and housing and transportation.
Additional links: County Maps, Interactive Map
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Multidimensional Index of Deep Disadvantage
Categorizes counties and cities based on an index that examines disadvantage based on health indicators, poverty, and social mobility data. Provides a profile for each county that includes its rural/urban status, population, and index-related indicators. Identifies the 100 most disadvantaged counties.
Additional links: Full Data Set, Understanding Communities of Deep Disadvantage: An Introduction
Sponsoring organizations: Princeton University, University of Michigan
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Categorizes counties and cities based on an index that examines disadvantage based on health indicators, poverty, and social mobility data. Provides a profile for each county that includes its rural/urban status, population, and index-related indicators. Identifies the 100 most disadvantaged counties.
Additional links: Full Data Set, Understanding Communities of Deep Disadvantage: An Introduction
Sponsoring organizations: Princeton University, University of Michigan
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The Private Well Class
A resource focused on managing private water sources, with information for individual well owners, as well as environmental health, cooperative extension, and water well professionals. Provides a variety of learning opportunities, including a free 10-lesson course, webinars, and a resource library.
Sponsoring organizations: Illinois State Water Survey, Rural Community Assistance Partnership
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A resource focused on managing private water sources, with information for individual well owners, as well as environmental health, cooperative extension, and water well professionals. Provides a variety of learning opportunities, including a free 10-lesson course, webinars, and a resource library.
Sponsoring organizations: Illinois State Water Survey, Rural Community Assistance Partnership
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Value of Lead Prevention
Provides data on childhood lead exposure at the state and county level. Includes information on the economic cost of lead exposure.
Sponsoring organizations: Altarum, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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Provides data on childhood lead exposure at the state and county level. Includes information on the economic cost of lead exposure.
Sponsoring organizations: Altarum, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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Rural Homelessness
Resources to help rural communities address homelessness. Supports the "All Routes Home: Ending Homelessness in Rural America" strategy to end rural homelessness.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Resources to help rural communities address homelessness. Supports the "All Routes Home: Ending Homelessness in Rural America" strategy to end rural homelessness.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
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PubMed Search: Rural Social Determinants of Health
Searches PubMed's collection of journal article citations on social determinants of health impacting rural residents. Includes coverage of poverty, unemployment, housing, environmental health, educational status, and health literacy.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. National Library of Medicine
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Searches PubMed's collection of journal article citations on social determinants of health impacting rural residents. Includes coverage of poverty, unemployment, housing, environmental health, educational status, and health literacy.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. National Library of Medicine
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The Opportunity Atlas
Interactive mapping tool that provides estimates for children's future earnings, incarceration rates, and other outcomes in adulthood by parental income, race, and gender by census tract. For some low population census tracts, there may be insufficient data to allow for all features.
Sponsoring organizations: Brown University, Harvard University, U.S. Census Bureau
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Interactive mapping tool that provides estimates for children's future earnings, incarceration rates, and other outcomes in adulthood by parental income, race, and gender by census tract. For some low population census tracts, there may be insufficient data to allow for all features.
Sponsoring organizations: Brown University, Harvard University, U.S. Census Bureau
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Additional resources are available related to this guide. See the full list of resources by topic for:
- Educational attainment
- Employment and unemployment
- Environmental health
- Health literacy
- Housing and homelessness
- Income
- Infrastructure
- Poverty
- Social determinants of health
Last Updated: 7/1/2025