Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

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

Partnering with Faith-Based Organizations to Improve Health and Equity
Provides a discussion among faith-based leaders in Wisconsin and Minnesota regarding their work collaborating with public health partners to promote social, economic, and racial justice. Includes strategies specific to rural areas and churches that assist in bridging cultural divides and creating impactful health policy for all citizens.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Presenter Biographies, Resource Guide
Date: 10/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps
view details
Addressing Social Needs through Medicaid: Lessons from Planning and Early Implementation of North Carolina's Healthy Opportunities Pilots
Results of a study to generate findings and recommendations from the planning, capacity-building, and early implementation of the Healthy Opportunities Pilots program. Focuses on the health-related social needs of North Carolina Medicaid enrollees living in three primarily rural regions of the state.
Author(s): Katie M. Huber, William K. Bleser, Rebecca G. Whiteaker, et al.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, Milbank Memorial Fund
view details
Association Between Insurer Connectivity in Appalachian Population Health Networks and Preventable Hospitalizations: Evidence from Kentucky
Examines insurer connectivity in community networks across regions in Kentucky, and the association between connectivity and the probability of experiencing a preventable hospitalization. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban, rural non-Appalachian, and Appalachian locations.
Author(s): Rachel Hogg-Graham, Kelsey R. Gatton, Rick Ingram, Glen P. Mays
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 5(2), 15-31
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
view details
Eight Postpartum Support Programs in Rural Communities Across the United States
Highlights locally-focused organizations working to improve postpartum health for rural residents across the United States. Profiles 8 unique organizations serving rural communities in Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, South Carolina, and Washington.
Author(s): Mariana Tuttle, Phoebe Chastain, Julia D. Interrante, Carrie Henning-Smith, Katy Backes Kozhimannil
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details
Forming Partnerships to Increase Rural Immunization Rates
Discusses barriers to vaccine uptake in rural communities. Describes how two community organizations worked to increase vaccinations in rural Alabama and how a network led by the National Center for Farmworker Health built the capacity to distribute COVID-19 vaccines and build vaccine confidence among migrant farmworkers. Identifies state considerations for implementing community-based programs to increase vaccinations in rural areas.
Author(s): Shalini Nair, Heather Tomlinson
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
view details
The Frontier of Harm Reduction: Expanding Services for Rural People Who Use Drugs
Describes how harm reduction approaches help reduce health risks related to substance use and explains how these approaches are being adapted in rural areas. Highlights innovative harm reduction strategies being used in rural communities in Alaska, Wisconsin, and South Dakota.
Author(s): Brendan Stermer
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Promoting Rural Residents' Participation in Clinical Trials: Clinical Trials Basics Programming and Training for Rural Public Librarians
Describes a collaboration between Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health and Wellness Library and the VCU Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research that aimed to provide public librarians with skills to increase the health literacy of community members regarding clinical trials in rural and underserved areas.
Author(s): Dana L. Ladd, Jackson C. Wright
Citation: Journal of the Medical Library Association, 111(3), 722-727
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
view details
Indian Health Service Program Evaluation Services: Community Opioid Intervention Pilot Projects FY 2021-2022 Report
Report evaluates the Indian Health Service's Community Opioid Intervention Pilot Project aimed at addressing opioid use disorder in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Collects and evaluates data from grantees after the program's first year, April 1, 2021-March 31, 2022. Explores grantees' progress in building organizational capacity, community and educational events, and professional trainings, among other measures.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Indian Health Service
view details
Building Trust and Visibility Through Community-Based Participatory Research At Rural Minority-Serving Institutions
Examines some of the driving forces and conditions ensuring a rural voice in design and action, the alignment of rural fields and actors, and an accurate rural narrative. Explores rural Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and approaches to community-based participatory research that can be used to better understand MSIs' nature and practices.
Author(s): Marybeth Gasman, Alice Ginsberg, Levon T. Esters
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group
view details
Challenges and Solutions for Disaster Behavioral Health in Rural and Remote Communities
Describes the scope and diversity of rural and remote populations across the nation, highlighting sources of strength and struggle, including the effects of stigma, for rural Americans and rural healthcare providers. Explores potential approaches to disaster behavioral health in rural and remote areas, including governmental and policy approaches, community-based approaches, and telemedicine.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center
view details