National and Multi-State Rural Project Examples

Updated/reviewed March 2024

Need: To increase access to telemental health services for rural veterans, especially women, with a history of trauma.
Intervention: STAIR (Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation) is a 10-week program designed to reduce PTSD and depression symptoms and increase emotional regulation and social functioning in clients.
Results: Therapists reported that clients attended more sessions when offered via teleconferencing, and clients reported satisfaction with the program.

Added October 2023

Need: To recruit and train medical students who are committed to choosing rural practice.
Intervention: An add-on curriculum that includes seminars, field trips, and clinical rotations in rural and underserved areas.
Results: 436 students have graduated from the RMED program between 1997 and 2023, with 65% of program graduates practicing in towns of less than 50,000 people.

Updated/reviewed August 2022

Need: To encourage farmers to make health and safety changes on their farms.
Intervention: Farm Dinner Theater is an event in which farmers and their families watch three 10-minute plays covering health and safety topics and then discuss solutions to the issues addressed in each.
Results: In a study, farmers who attended the plays were more likely to make changes and tell others what they learned, compared to farmers who received an educational packet with the same information.

Updated/reviewed August 2023

Need: To increase healthy eating and physical activity levels in Fairfield County, South Carolina.
Intervention: Community health advisors trained church committees and delivered telephone-based technical assistance to improve opportunities, guidelines, messages, and pastor support for physical activity and healthy eating.
Results: In a 2018 study, churchgoers reported seeing more opportunities for physical activity as well as more messages and pastor support for physical activity and healthy eating. Intervention churches also had fewer inactive churchgoers, compared to control churches.

Updated/reviewed June 2024

Need: To reduce youth suicide rates.
Intervention: First begun in Utah, Hope Squad is a nationwide program that trains youth to look after their classmates and refer those with suicidal thoughts or other mental health concerns to adult advisors.
Results: Studies suggest that Hope Squad schools' students with suicidal thoughts are more likely than non-Hope Squad schools' students to solicit help. In addition, stigma surrounding mental illness is decreasing.

Updated/reviewed April 2024

Need: Strategies to recruit and retain providers to practice in rural settings.
Intervention: A traveling one-day workshop was designed to share ideas and firsthand accounts on successful strategies on how to create "Safe Sites" for new recruits.
Results: So far, workshops have trained over 250 hospital administrators, board members, and rural hospital recruiters.

Updated/reviewed December 2023

Need: Drowning was a leading cause of death for children in Alaska.
Intervention: Cold Water Safety and Survival for Educators workshops were developed in 1998, with help from a 4-year federal grant, to train educators to provide education and hands-on skills for school children and members of the public.
Results: The safety program was integrated into about 50% of Alaskan school curriculum and schools in other states, helping to train hundreds of educators and thousands of children on the importance of cold water safety.

Updated/reviewed October 2023

Need: Free, non-emergency air travel for children and adults in need of medical treatment far from home who live in rural areas of the Northeast.
Intervention: Angel Flight East, a free medical flight service, has expanded their focus to include more patients from rural areas, as well as those with rare medical conditions.
Results: Since adding the Rural & Rare Reach program, Angel Flight East has made contact with over 100 Critical Access Hospitals and more than 300 FQHCs for referrals. Ongoing promotional efforts with rural health organizations are helping to increase the awareness of flight services to rural locations.

Added October 2023

Need: To reduce injuries in agricultural communities and improve emergency responders' preparedness when called to farms and ranches.
Intervention: RF-DASH equips rural fire/EMS personnel and others with agricultural health and safety knowledge and tools to pre-plan for agricultural emergencies as well as assess and then mitigate agricultural hazards.
Results: Over 80 firefighters and EMTs have received training to become RF-DASH trainers.

Updated/reviewed September 2023

Need: To increase access to specialty care for rural veterans living with HIV.
Intervention: The HIV Telehealth Collaborative Care (TCC) study connects these patients with HIV specialists via clinical video telehealth or VA video connect and works to create shared care relationships with primary care teams in rural areas.
Results: The HIV TCC program provides HIV specialty care access to rural veterans in a sustainable manner with infrastructure, mentorship, and capacity building.

Rural Project Examples: National and Multi-State