Rural Project Examples Addressing Wellness, health promotion, and disease prevention

South Dakota Harvest of the Month Program

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.

Updated/reviewed March 2023

Need: To increase students' levels of physical activity, engagement in learning, and academic achievement.
Intervention: With The Walking Classroom, students take a brisk walk as a group while listening to a kid-friendly, custom-written educational podcast that aligns with the curriculum.
Results: Children increase their activity level while learning academic content, building health literacy, and developing healthy lifestyle habits to prevent obesity and improve cognitive function and retention.

Updated/reviewed February 2023

Need: Teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, in young girls were concerns for members of Union Parish, Louisiana.
Intervention: Union General Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital, created the program It's a Girl Thing: Making Proud Choices to teach prevention, self-confidence, and personal responsibility to teen girls.
Results: Teen pregnancy rates in Union Parish have dropped by 18%, exceeding the program's initial goal of 5%. Graduation rates have also increased the longer girls remain in the program.

Updated/reviewed December 2022

Need: To lessen the impact of chronic disease and associated complications in North Carolina.
Intervention: Partners in Health and Wholeness, an initiative of the NC Council of Churches, is a faith-based program that integrates healthy living within congregations while offering financial support to launch or expand health initiatives. The program partners with faith communities in North Carolina to fund and support their health initiatives through collaborative partnerships.
Results: Since its founding in 2009, over 900 churches have become a part of the PHW, many in rural areas, and over 600 mini-grants have been awarded to congregations.

Updated/reviewed October 2022

Need: A community-wide collaborative process to identify and address specific quality-of-life challenges confronting the citizens of Beaufort County, South Carolina.
Intervention: Together for Beaufort County facilitates the coordination of local and regional coalitions that address economic, social, health, educational, and environmental factors through shared collective impact process.
Results: Out of 46 counties in South Carolina, Beaufort County has reached the top ranking in health outcomes.

Updated/reviewed November 2020

Need: Preventive and chronic medical condition care for farm families/agribusiness owners/employees with time and monetary constraints.
Intervention: Through a "Kitchen Wellness" program, a trained healthcare professional provides in-home or on-site complimentary preventive health screening, educational materials, and community referral information.
Results: Completion of hundreds of health screenings, tailored health education sessions and referral information.

Updated/reviewed July 2020

Need: Connect individuals to services that address health barriers.
Intervention: A pay-for-outcomes model utilizing Community Health Workers who help provide community members with tools to address needs associated with improving health.
Results: Trained Community Health Workers help patients navigate the healthcare and social service systems and provide education about community healthcare resources.

Updated/reviewed February 2020

Need: To help reduce diabetes, depression, and stroke risk in rural residents.
Intervention: A collaborative care model was implemented in the Idaho counties of Clearwater, Idaho, and Lewis.
Results: Increased number of patients with controlled blood sugar, controlled blood pressure, and higher depression screening rates.

Added October 2018

Need: Prevention of type 2 diabetes in adolescents living in rural parts of Louisiana.
Intervention: Through screenings, the Adolescent Pre-Diabetes Prevention Program detects the onset of prediabetes. Through nutrition and physical activity education, the program teaches high school students and staff how to adopt healthy lifestyles.
Results: The program has seen an increase in enrollment and continues to see decreases in body weight, body mass index, and A1C levels among participants.