This website is being reviewed for updates. Some information is offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by State: Kentucky

Increasing Vaccine Confidence in Rural Communities of South-Central Kentucky
Provides educational resources, data, and advice for community leaders and healthcare professionals to promote vaccine confidence in rural south-central Kentucky. The included toolkit provides in-depth discussion of rural attitudes toward vaccination, strategies for effective communication, and information on rural vaccination disparities.
Additional links: Getting to "YES" for Routine Vaccines: A Toolkit to Increase Vaccine Confidence for Rural Communities in Kentucky
Date: 08/2024
Sponsoring organization: American Lung Association
view details
Appalachian Diseases of Despair
Provides information on Appalachian mortality disparities due to overdose, suicide, and alcoholic liver disease/cirrhosis among people ages 15-64. Utilizes data from the 2022 Multiple Cause of Death database broken down by Appalachian state, region, sex, and metropolitan or nonmetropolitan status.
Date: 08/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Appalachian Regional Commission, East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health Research, NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
view details
Strategies Used to Reduce Harms Associated with Fentanyl Exposure among Rural People Who Use Drugs: Multi-Site Qualitative Findings from the Rural Opioid Initiative
Explores strategies utilized by rural people who use drugs to reduce fentanyl-related harm. Analyzes interviews with 349 people who recently used opioids or injection drugs in 10 states. Discusses awareness of fentanyl contamination, highlights perspectives on common harm reduction strategies, and describes public health applications. Includes state-by-state comparisons of participant demographic data.
Author(s): Suzan M. Walters, Robin Baker, David Frank, et al.
Citation: Harm Reduction Journal, 21, 154
Date: 08/2024
view details
2024 Workforce Survey Report: The Status of Kentucky's Hospital Workforce
Provides an in-depth look at non-physician direct care positions in inpatient or hospital-related outpatient departments in Kentucky as of 2023. Includes statistics on vacancies, benefits, and pay, with breakdowns by rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Maik Schutze
Date: 08/2024
Sponsoring organization: Kentucky Hospital Association
view details
Community-Level Factors and their Associations with Changing Opioid Overdose Fatality Rates in Kentucky, 2019–2021
Identifies associations between community-level factors and opioid overdose fatality rates in Appalachian and non-Appalachian Kentucky counties, and examines how these associations have changed from 2019 to 2021. Discusses societal changes that occurred due to COVID-19, including social isolation, and which may be linked to an increase in overdose deaths. Features statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan, adjacent-to-metropolitan, and nonmetropolitan areas.
Author(s): Shawn R. Nigam, Philip M. Westgate, Svetla Slavova, Rachel Vickers-Smith, Katherine L. Thompson
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 6(1), 90-115
Date: 07/2024
view details
Feasibility and Efficacy of a Novel Audiovisual Tool to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening among Rural Appalachian Kentucky Adults
Examines an audiovisual tool to improve understanding of fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) directions and assesses the tool's feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy in an Appalachian population of Kentucky. Utilizes survey data and focus group feedback from 692 individuals to examine FIT completion. Discusses colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality and strategies to improve screening.
Author(s): Aaron J. Kruse-Diehr, Derek Cegelka, Elizabeth Holtsclaw, et al.
Citation: Public Health, 12
Date: 07/2024
view details
Rural Community Health Worker Programs: Proving Value and Finding Sustainability
Features four rural healthcare organizations describing the impact of their community health worker (CHW) programs and strategies for sustaining them. Discusses CHW roles, activities, reimbursement options, and more.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 07/2024
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Social Induction via a Social Behavioral Intervention on Changes in Metabolic Risk Factors: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Rural Appalachia, United States
Examines the effects of a social network intervention on metabolic health in rural, Appalachian Kentucky. Presents data of 301 participants, including data on change in body weight, waist circumference, mean arterial blood pressure, and other cardiovascular and metabolic health indicators. Evaluates the relationship between social networks, health behaviors, and physical health outcomes.
Author(s): Eric L. Ding, Kathleen T. Watson, Leila Makarechi, et al.
Citation: Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 99(7), 1058-1077
Date: 07/2024
view details
The Appalachian Region: A Data Overview from the 2018-2022 American Community Survey Chartbook
State- and county-level information on population, age, race and ethnicity, housing occupancy, education, labor force, employment, transportation, income, health insurance coverage, disability, and veteran status, for the 13 Appalachian states. Features statistics with breakdowns by 5 levels of population density. Includes data explorer options for Appalachian categories such as population and age, education, income and poverty, computer and broadband access, rural Appalachia versus rural America, and employment and commuting.
Additional links: Full Report
Author(s): Sara Srygley, Nurfadila Khairunnisa, Diana Elliott
Date: 06/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Appalachian Regional Commission, Population Reference Bureau
view details
Community Needs Assessment Collaboration Following the July 2022 Flooding in Eastern Kentucky
Describes the process by which community partners serving 14 rural Appalachian Kentucky counties collaborated to design and conduct a community needs assessment in the aftermath of July 2022 flooding. The assessment collected information related to flooding impact on housing, physical and behavioral health, transportation, work, and finances.
Author(s): Melissa Slone, Frances Feltner, William M. Baker, Anthony S. Lockard, Angela Raleigh
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, (1):163–166.
Date: 05/2024
view details