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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Community and economic development

Four Mindsets for Funding Economic Mobility in the Black Rural South
Highlights opportunities for philanthropy to contribute to economic mobility in the Black rural South, based on conversations with nonprofit leaders, cooperative extension staff at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), funders, researchers, and others. Identifies 4 mindsets that, if changed, could impact the effectiveness and support of existing institutions that are already active in the Black rural South. Features statistics on per capita grantmaking from 2010-2014 with breakdowns including the Alabama Black Belt and Mississippi Delta region, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.
Author(s): Mike Soskis, Angie Estevez Prada, Mark McKeag, Rich Pierre, Cynthia Phoel
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National 4-H Council, The Bridgespan Group
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Impact Extra Episode - Rural Health on Life Support Emergency Rural Health Care Grants
Podcast episode featuring Farah Ahmad, Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Discusses how USDA Rural Development (RD) invests in rural communities, including improving access to healthy foods in rural communities. Provides an overview of the Emergency Rural Health Care Grant program, which helped increase access to COVID-19 testing and vaccines, rural healthcare and telehealth services, and food assistance.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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GusNIP Efforts Impacting Rural Communities – and Economies
Discusses the impacts of the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), a food program that helps people access fresh fruits and vegetables. Focuses on resident and community experiences with the program in rural West Virginia.
Author(s): Matt Browning
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
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Characterizing Rugged Terrain in the United States
Analyzes the impact of rugged terrain on travel barriers and community development in U.S. Census tracts, with a focus on the relationship between terrain, rurality, and low-income areas. Presents two representations of topographic variability: the Area Ruggedness Scale and the Road Ruggedness Scale. Includes related maps and data applying the scales to regions, states, and rural and urban areas of the U.S.
Author(s): Elizabeth A. Dobis, John Cromartie, Ryan Williams, Kyle Reed
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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An Active Roadmap: Best Practices in Rural Mobility
Provides a literature review and cases studies related to the ways rural communities encourage health-focused infrastructure, multimodal transportation, economic development, and environmentally safe practices. Describes the typology and demographics of rural areas and discusses how transportation is linked to wellness and community health outcomes.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Smart Growth America, The National Complete Streets Coalition
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Rural Partners Network - U.S. Treasury Programs Relevant to the U.S. Agriculture Rural Development
Webinar recording from the Rural Partners Network with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Treasury to highlight programs for rural and tribal communities from the Treasury. Discusses funding related to housing, broadband, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and more. Transcript is available by clicking the three dots under the video and choosing "Show transcript."
Date: 07/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: U.S. Department of Treasury, USDA Rural Development
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Shared Equity Housing in Rural Communities: Models, Lessons and Best Practices
Presentation slides that discuss shared equity housing in rural areas, a housing model that helps provide secure housing for individuals while keeping housing affordable for the community. Provides an overview of the shared equity housing model and outcomes of specific programs.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Presentation Slides
Sponsoring organization: Rural LISC
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Delivery of High-Speed Broadband Services in Unserved and Underserved Areas of the Commonwealth (Pennsylvania): Fourth Annual Report
Provides an update on the role of broadband in education, telehealth, agriculture, and community and economic development; barriers to development; funding resources; developments in Pennsylvania state and local initiatives; and efforts to identify unserved and underserved Pennsylvania communities. Includes a discussion of the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority and new federal funding for expansion and development in Pennsylvania.
Additional links: Summary
Author(s): Yvonne Llewellyn Hursh, Lydia Hack, Allison N. Kobzowicz, Bryan W. DeWalt, Wendy L. Baker
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Joint State Government Commission, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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Indicators of Healthy Aging: A Guide to Explore Healthy Aging Data through Community Health Improvement
Provides an overview for local health departments (LHDs) and partners to assess the components of healthy aging in their communities through research, data, and practice. Focuses on tracking health indicators and the social determinants of health (SDOH) and how to use data while considering community-level factors that impact healthcare access, such as race/ethnicity, location/rurality, Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) status, and more.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Association of County and City Health Officials, Trust for America's Health
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Predicting Firm Creation in Rural Texas: A Multi-Model Machine Learning Approach to a Complex Policy Problem
Evaluates Texas counties between 2008 and 2018 to identify factors contributing to entrepreneurship for rural areas. Discusses how healthcare, elder care, and child care predict growth in entrepreneurship. Compares predictive factors for rural areas with urban predictive factors. Makes recommendations for research, policy, and scholarship for rural entrepreneurship.
Author(s): Mark C. Hand, Vivek Shastry, Varun Rai
Citation: PLOS ONE, 18(6), e0287217
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
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