Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Community and faith-based initiatives

Use of Mass Communication by Public Health Programs in Nonmetropolitan Regions
Essay describing the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's efforts to encourage health departments, tribes, universities, and community-based organizations in rural areas to use mass communications as a tool to address racial and ethnic disparities.
Author(s): Jennifer M. Kreslake, Allison Elkins, Christopher N. Thomas, Suzanne Gates, Thomas Lehman
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 16
Date: 07/2019
Type: Document
view details
Opportunities and Challenges Addressing Access to Healthy Food in Five Rural Louisiana Food Stores
Results of a rural food store intervention implemented in 3 Louisiana parishes where obesity prevalence was greater than 40%. Describes implications for public health and offers recommendations for future interventions.
Author(s): Michelle Kendall, Stephanie T. Broyles, Jamila Freightman, Melissa Cater, Denise Holston
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 16
Date: 07/2019
Type: Document
view details
National Rural Health Association: Rural Veterans and Their Families Policy Paper
Policy brief focused on supporting the health of rural veterans and their families from a community-based systems perspective. Addresses public-private partnerships, faith-based solutions, leveraging the stories of veterans using media, and the financial and economic security of rural veterans.
Author(s): David Albright, Carter Florence
Date: 07/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
view details
Extending Access to Care Across the Rural US South: Preliminary Results from the Alabama eHealth Programme
Describes Alabama eHealth, a community-based initiative of Medical Advocacy and Outreach (MAO) that provides telehealth services to rural residents living with HIV. Discusses staff interviews describing barriers and successes to implementing the program. Evaluates the effectiveness and sustainability of the program by tracking patient appointment completion rates, CD4 counts, and viral loads. Table 1 provides an overview of Alabama eHealth affiliates and their roles in providing telehealth services.
Author(s): Kriti Jain, Prashanth Bhat, Cathy Maulsby, et al.
Citation: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 25(5): 301-309
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
view details
Tailoring Crisis Response and Pre-arrest Diversion Models for Rural Communities
Outlines a guide for rural communities to develop crisis response and pre-arrest diversion programs for people with mental health or substance use disorders. Discusses the use of technology to connect law enforcement with behavioral health programs, as well as building off of current programs to address the specific needs of the community.
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
view details
Kentucky Community Fights Back against Cardiovascular Disease
Results of a study conducted in Appalachian Kentucky, exploring a program in which community health workers helped promote healthy eating, physical activity, stress reduction, and other activities to manage risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
view details
In Support of Family Caregivers: A Snapshot of Five States
Examines policies developed in Washington, Minnesota, Hawaii, Tennessee, and Maine to support family caregivers, including those in rural areas. Features demographic characteristics of the states profiled, state expenditures by the Administration for Community Living in FY2016 on older adults and caregivers, and data on state Medicaid policies affecting these groups.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Jennifer Aufill, Julia Burgdorf, Jennifer Wolff
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Milbank Memorial Fund, The John A. Hartford Foundation
view details
Healthy Brain Initiative: Road Map for Indian Country
Report discusses Alzheimer's disease and dementia among American Indian and Alaska Native populations. Includes an overview of the disease and details the trends among Native Americans. Provides strategies and resources for tribal communities to provide early diagnosis, treatment, and care for elders with dementia.
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Alzheimer's Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
view details
The Influence of a Place-Based Foundation and a Public University in Growing a Rural Health Workforce
Case study of a partnership between the JF Maddox Foundation, the University of New Mexico's Office for Community Health, a local community college, and local community hospitals in southeastern New Mexico to increase healthcare access through workforce recruitment, training, and health promotion efforts. Discusses the healthcare needs of the rapidly growing rural community of Hobbs, NM and describes outcomes and lessons learned from the private-public partnerships that responded to those needs.
Author(s): Robert Reid, Evelyn Rising, Arthur Kaufman, et al.
Citation: Journal of Community Health, 44(2), 292-296
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
view details
Influencing Cardiovascular Health Habits in the Rural, Deep South: Results of a Cluster Randomized Trial
Study examining public health interventions through churches to address cardiovascular disease (CVD) among African American adults in the rural South. Describes risk factors for CVD, social determinants of health, and CVD disparities in rural and African American communities. Analyzes sociodemographic and health data for 229 participants in a health promotion study.
Author(s): Laurie S. Abbott, Elizabeth H. Slate, Jennifer L. Lemacks
Citation: Health Education Research, 34(2), 200-208
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
view details