Rural Project Examples Addressing Population health

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: Improved health outcomes for Monadnock Region, a rural area of New Hampshire.
Intervention: A wide-scale effort across multiple sectors is aiming to improve health outcomes throughout the region.
Results: Community health trends have been tracked over time, and progress on goals such as increasing the number of residents with healthcare coverage, opportunities for physical activity, access to healthy foods, and smoking cessation has been made.

Updated/reviewed August 2023

Need: To help children whose family members are struggling with substance misuse.
Intervention: A year-round program provides mentoring as well as substance use prevention education.
Results: In 2022, Camp Mariposa served a total of 123 youth in its four rural locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. In a study, 93% of participants reported no use of any substance to get high.

Updated/reviewed August 2023

Need: Health initiatives in rural Pennsylvania communities to address locally-identified health disparities.
Intervention: Healthy Adams County was created by its rural community members to promote community-wide health.
Results: Community task forces have been formed to address breast cancer prevention, food policies, behavioral health, health literacy, oral health, tobacco prevention, and other rural, community-identified needs.

Updated/reviewed July 2023

Need: Due to systemic issues and historic lack of investment, people living in under-resourced rural communities in North Carolina– especially people of color– have poorer health than those living in urban areas.
Intervention: Funded by the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, Healthy Places NC invested $100 million over 10 years in rural North Carolina counties to improve residents' health.
Results: Healthy Places NC has generated excitement and promoted collaboration in the participating communities. A full evaluation of the first 10 years of the program will be released in fall of 2024.

Added July 2023

Need: To increase food security among low-income patients living with cancer and diabetes in rural Jefferson County, Washington.
Intervention: A local healthcare system partnered with a small organic farm to offer weekly produce boxes to eligible low-income patients.
Results: 10 patients participated in the Jefferson Healthcare prescription CSA program in 2022. In 2023, the program grew to serve 15 patients.

Updated/reviewed July 2023

Need: To increase access to healthcare and social services in rural South Carolina via library systems.
Intervention: Pilot sites are hiring social workers and community health workers to provide consultations, case management, and referrals.
Results: One library screens an average of 215 residents a month, and another library's programming reached over 800 female patrons.

Updated/reviewed May 2023

Need: To improve health outcomes in rural Appalachian Ohio.
Intervention: Schools as a Hub for Health promotes holistic wellness for the whole community by creating or bringing in programs that support physical, mental, and social health.
Results: The project has gained administrator buy-in and was featured in a December 2016 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps webinar.

Updated/reviewed May 2023

Need: To encourage children to make healthy eating choices through learning and tasting.
Intervention: Brief, fun, and informative presentations and tastings for children on over 42 different fruits and vegetables.
Results: Participants are exposed to new foods and show more interest in healthy eating.

Updated/reviewed March 2023

Need: Falling is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in adults over the age of 65.
Intervention: The Right Side Up program was implemented in rural Otter Tail County to address the prevention and management of falls and risk for falls through in-home assessments given by interdisciplinary healthcare professionals and students.
Results: Short-term outcomes revealed 100% of participants found the visit and recommendations for falls prevention to be helpful, and 78% implemented these recommendations.

Rural Project Examples: Population health