Social Determinants of Health for Rural People – Resources

2024 Research Report: Collaborative on Economic Mobility
Provides a landscape analysis of the Collaborative on Economic Mobility (CEM) cooperative agreement, which focuses on the implementation and strengthening of economic mobility practices. Discusses issues such as social inequities, early childhood education, healthcare access, family and community services, workforce development, policy, housing, transportation, and more. Includes consideration of rural communities, with comparisons of rural versus nonrural employment growth.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: ACF Office of Community Services
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Understanding Childcare Challenges in Rural America: Strategic Recommendations and an Action Framework
Provides an overview of challenges and barriers to early childcare in rural areas. Offers a roadmap for companies and organizations to identify and address childcare shortages in their communities, as well as state, local, employer, and facility-based recommendations. Features examples of emerging childcare models and initiatives implemented by NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association members.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Foundation for Rural Service, NTCA: The Rural Broadband Association
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The 2021–2022 Study of Family and Staff Experiences in American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start FACES Programs: Spring 2022 Data Tables and Study Design
Provides a comprehensive overview of Region XI Head Start programs, which works with American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities, and provides data from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES). Includes data on Region XI characteristics, experiences, health status, and needs of children and their families; cultural and linguistic experiences; and characteristics of Head Start programs and staff.
Author(s): Charlotte Cabili, Natalie Reid, Carla Chavez, et al.
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S. 2024
Explores maternal healthcare access and provides county-level U.S. maps that show maternity care deserts, hospitals that offer obstetric (OB) care, distribution of OB providers, travel time to maternity care, chronic conditions of birthing people, social drivers of health, and more. Includes rural versus urban characteristics of the maternal health workforce as well as access and policy discussions specific to rural areas.
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: March of Dimes
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Congruence Between County Dental Health Provider Shortage Area Designations and the Social Vulnerability Index
Provides visual comparisons of the relationship between Dental Health Provider Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2020 Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) designations on county-level U.S. maps. Includes table showing median county-level SVI score by HPSA designation, broken down by metro, nonmetro, and all county.
Author(s): Gabriel A. Benavidez, Elizabeth Crouch, Joni Nelson, Amy Martin
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 21
Date: 06/2024
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Loneliness and Social Isolation Are Common in Rural America. Is "Social Infrastructure" the Solution?
Discusses structural factors that contribute to social isolation in rural areas. Features programs in Minnesota, Nebraska, and Alaska that are finding ways to build connection into rural communities.
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 06/2024
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Coming to Terms with Housing and Homelessness in Rural Places with Jess Huff, Erin Carreon, and Mallory VanMeeter
Podcast episode discussing rural youth homelessness. Covers challenges to identifying, counting, and providing services for rural homeless teens; the role of community support services; the long-term impacts of homelessness; and how rural communities can address and prevent youth homelessness.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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Coming to Terms with Housing and Homelessness in Rural Places with Marion Mollegen McFadden, HUD
Podcast episode discussing rural homelessness and housing security featuring Marion Mollegen McFadden, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Describes HUD's work related to rural communities. Highlights programs and funding that help rural communities meet housing and community development needs.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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Check with the Intended Audience First! Content Validation as a Method for Inclusive Research for Primary Care Engagement in Rural Appalachia
Results of a study intended to develop and content validate a survey to assess engagement and burnout, referral practices, and self-efficacy and confidence in making referrals based on social determinants of health among primary care providers and clinic staff in Appalachian North Carolina. Uses data from 10 participants, collected between August and November 2022.
Author(s): Sydeena E. Isaacs, Jennifer Schroeder Tyson, Ashley Parks, Danielle Adams
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 6(1):69–89
Date: 04/2024
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Rural Research Brief: Creating A Better Understanding of Farmworker Communities and Their Housing Conditions
Examines the legal, cultural, and geographic determinants that impact housing for farmworkers and their families. Focuses on farmworker demographics, economic characteristics, housing challenges, programs aimed at improving housing, and potential policy solutions.
Author(s): Manda LaPorte
Date: 04/2024
Sponsoring organization: Housing Assistance Council
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