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Rural Health Information Hub

Other Case Studies and Collections of Program Examples: Community and faith-based initiatives

In addition to RHIhub's Rural Health Models and Innovations rural program examples, you may also want to browse other case studies, databases, and websites with collections of health programs.

Each resource listed below uses its own criteria for selecting program examples, which may range from programs known to be effective based on research to anecdotal accounts. In each resource, you may want to review information on the level of evidence required for a program's inclusion.

May include non-rural programs that could be applicable to rural health delivery.

Lifting Kids Up with Grace: How a New Mexico Community Built a Grassroots Youth and Family Center from the Ground Up
Features the GRACE Youth and Family Center for Everyone, a New Mexico grassroots initiative that offers free programming to children, teenagers, and families in a rural county with high rates of substance use.
Author(s): Gretel Kauffman
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Building an Inclusive Disability Community in Rural Idaho: Stories from the Magic Valley
Case study highlighting the work of a rural Center for Independent Living (CIL) in Idaho participating in the Rural Community Living Development (RCLD), a peer support network offering mentorship. Discusses building both community relationships and individual capacity with focus on transportation, social connections, advocacy, independent living skills, and peer support.
Author(s): Lillie Greiman, Genna M. Mashinchi, E. Peterson, et al.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: University of Montana: Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities
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Ending Domestic Violence: How A Rural Texas Town Built a Support Net for Victims
Features the Kingsville End Domestic Violence Task Force, an initiative that provides hotel vouchers, court accompaniment, public awareness education, and a program to identify trusted locations for those experiencing domestic violence.
Author(s): Gretel Kauffman
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 08/2024
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Compendium of Best Practices for Rural Age-Friendly Care
Offers best practices, models of care, policies, and more related to offering age-friendly care in rural settings. Covers care coordination, caregiving support, behavioral health, community programming, community health workers, the 4Ms, and state-level priorities.
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Association, The John A. Hartford Foundation
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How Becoming a "Blue Zone" Advanced the Health of Klamath Falls, Oregon
Case study featuring Sky Lakes Medical Center, a not-for-profit, community-owned, acute-care teaching hospital in rural Oregon. Describes a variety of community partnerships underway to help meet the needs of the community, including the Healthy Klamath Coalition, Klamath Works, and the Blue Zones Project.
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Faith in Recovery Coalition Offers Hope for Opioid Use Disorder in Fayette County, Ohio
Highlights the Pathways to Recovery program, which works to address opioid use disorder in rural Ohio. Efforts include educating providers and law enforcement, overdose prevention, harm reduction, and recovery support from Peer Support Specialists.
Author(s): Kathryn Rutz
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Rural Renewal: Three Success Stories, Capturing Prosperity/Health
Showcases success stories from 3 rural communities that sought to address local health concerns, such as inadequate prenatal care and access to healthy food, and increase access to healthcare and related services. Describes community-based initiatives implemented in Nebraska, New Mexico, and South Carolina.
Author(s): Phillip L. Polakoff, Dennis Berens, David Angelson
Date: 01/2021
Sponsoring organization: A Healthier WE
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Federal Funding for Rural Health: Supporting Planning and Development Around a Regional Transportation Need
Features Rides to Health and Wealth, a regional transportation program in eastern Missouri helping improve rural healthcare access and other health-related transportation needs. Includes discussion of how the program planning and development continued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 12/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Healthy St. Landry Alliance Leads Coordinated Community Response During COVID-19 Pandemic
Profiles Healthy St. Landry Alliance, a consortium of 25 local partners in rural St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, and its response to COVID-19. Describes how the Alliance enacted a communications and response system to manage the regional response to the pandemic. Offers lessons learned and future goals of the collaboration.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Rural Community Action Guide: Building Stronger, Healthy, Drug-Free Rural Communities
Provides an overview of challenges rural communities face related to substance use disorder (SUD), including prescription opioid misuse. Identifies action steps rural communities can take related to prevention, treatment, recovery, and SUD-related issues such as stigma, transportation barriers, and lack of employment opportunities. Features programs that are working to address these issues in rural communities.
Additional links: Promising Practices Supplement
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Office of National Drug Control Policy
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