Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by State: North Carolina

Mitigating Cancer Disparities Through an Innovative Navigation Program
Describes the development and implementation of a population health navigation program to reduce barriers to cancer care in underserved communities in Western North Carolina and Northwest South Carolina. Provides data on rural program participants, including barriers to cancer care access, program impact on transportation needs and food insecurity, and rates of participation in clinical cancer research. Also covers Black, Hispanic, and adolescent and young adult program participants.
Author(s): Carla Strom, Emily Copus, Karen Winkfield
Citation: North Carolina Medical Journal, 85(1), 25-29
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
view details
Closing the Gap: How a Community Effort Can Improve Rural Maternity Care
Case study of a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) that increased access to maternal healthcare in rural North Carolina by opening a maternity care center. Discusses recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals and collaboration among healthcare organizations in the community.
Author(s): Jesus Ruiz
Citation: Annals of Family Medicine, 22(1), 68
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
view details
Investing in North Carolina's Caregiving Workforce: Recommendations to Strengthen North Carolina's Nursing, Direct Care, and Behavioral Health Workforce
Reports on North Carolina's caregiving workforce, with focus areas in nursing, behavioral health, and direct care. Provides context, describes existing solutions, and makes recommendations for addressing challenges and shortages in each focus area. Highlights state health investment, and lists current caregiving workforce initiatives. Mentions rural communities throughout.
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
view details
Patient Characteristics Associated With Phone and Video Visits at a Tele-Urgent Care Center During the Initial COVID-19 Response: Cross-Sectional Study
Examines patient characteristics related to tele-urgent care in the southeastern United States during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic period. Analyzes phone visits compared to video visits, with data further broken down by gender, age, health insurance status, prescriptions received, and rural versus urban location.
Author(s): Saif Khairat, Roshan John, Malvika Pillai, Philip McDaniel, Barbara Edson
Citation: Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 16
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
view details
Rural Maternity Innovation Summit Reports
Findings from a March 2024 Clifton, Texas summit that brought together leaders from six innovative and sustainable rural maternity programs. The site report provides case studies, sharing information on maternity services, staffing, financial strategies, and more. The leader report shares strategies and identifies leadership competencies, values, and character traits that support the leaders' abilities to meet the challenges in providing sustainable rural maternity services in rural communities.
Author(s): Erin E. Sullivan, Benjamin Anderson, Mark Deutchman
Date: 2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Colorado School of Medicine Rural Program
view details
Healthy Places NC: 10 Years That Changed the Way We Work
Reports on 10 years of activities by Healthy Places NC, an initiative focused on health improvement in North Carolina's rural and underserved communities. Discusses planning and implementation, challenges, lessons, case studies, network development and collaboration, and more. Describes the importance of addressing racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities and achieving health equity.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Video: 10 Years of Healthy Places NC
Author(s): Kristen Burwell Naney, Douglas Easterling, Tanya Beer, Mina Silberberg
Date: 2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust
view details
Bridging the Gap: INVESTing in HPV Vaccination for Rural Youth
Describes the INVEST (INcreasing VaccinE uptake among Southern Teens) human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine promotion program for rural youth in North Carolina and South Carolina. Discusses program implementation through school nurses and educational materials focused on vaccination and other aspects of adolescent health and wellness.
Author(s): Sayward E. Harrison
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
view details
Rural and Nonrural Racial Variation in Mentally Unhealthy Days: Findings from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System in North Carolina, 2015–2019
Compares rates at which rural and nonrural Black and White North Carolinians experience days with stress, depression, and problems with emotions, utilizing 2015-2019 North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data. Discusses social factors which may influence racial mental health disparities in rural areas.
Author(s): Caroline R. Efird, Derrick D. Matthews, Kathryn E. Muessig, et al.
Citation: SSM - Mental Health, 3, 100199
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
view details
Leading State Approaches and Communication Strategies to Support Health Equity
Describes how state and territory leaders have created effective health equity practices and communication strategies. Outlines three themes that emerged through research and roundtable discussions as top health equity priorities for states. Profiles initiatives and policies from nine states and Guam to address health equity and reflect these themes.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Governors Association
view details
Follicular DNA Damage and Pesticide Exposure Among Latinx Children in Rural and Urban Communities
Examines DNA double-strand breaks as an aspect of pesticide exposure among 30 Latinx children from rural, farmworker families and 15 children from urban, non-farmworker families in North Carolina, utilizing a minimally-invasive data collection method utilizing hair follicle samples and silicon wristbands. Provides data on rural-urban disparities in pesticide exposure, outside play, and use of sun protection among study participants, with additional data on seasonal variation.
Author(s): Cassandra Lepetit, Mohamed Gaber, Ke Zhou, et al.
Citation: Exposure and Health, 16, 1039-1052
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
view details