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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Environmental health

The Fifth National Climate Assessment
Report outlining the impacts of climate change in the U.S., discussing impacts to both the physical earth as well as society, economics, and health sectors. Offers a look at both national topics of interest as well as the current and future risks at a regional level. Chapter 11 addresses agriculture, food systems, and rural concerns. Chapter 16 addresses Indigenous Peoples.
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Global Change Research Program
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Communities, Climate Change, and Health Equity: Lessons Learned in Addressing Inequities in Heat-Related Climate Change Impacts: Proceedings of a Workshop-in Brief
Summary of a National Academies' Environmental Health Matters Initiative workshop in June 2023 discussing health equity for heat-related climate change. Highlights challenges with data gathering, recent policy changes, capacity building, and partnerships. Includes discussion of rural specific challenges, occupational health for farmworkers and other outdoor workers, and healthcare access.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Advancing Environmental Health and Justice: A Call for Assessment and Oversight of Health Care Waste
Addresses the impact on humans resulting from healthcare waste that is processed, incinerated, or transported to landfills. Discusses the inequities that occur with transport and waste sites that disproportionately harm communities of low-income and/or of color in urban and rural areas. Highlights evidence-based strategies and advocacy efforts for public health officials to support when developing solutions to reduce healthcare waste hazards and their effect on humans in rural and urban healthcare systems.
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: American Public Health Association
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Remotely Sensed Measures of Hurricane Michael Damage and Adverse Perinatal Outcomes and Access to Prenatal Care Services in the Florida Panhandle
Examines the damage caused by Hurricane Michael in 2018 on residential buildings in the predominantly rural Florida panhandle and the relationship to adverse perinatal outcomes and access to prenatal care (PNC) services in this population. Compares aerial photography of building damage to 8,965 women's geocoded addresses, utilizing data from the Florida Department of Health's Office of Vital Statistics. Includes demographic information of women giving birth in high risk/damaged areas and the related associations to perinatal outcomes and access to PNC services.
Author(s): Ke Pan, Elaina Gonsoroski, Christopher K. Uejio, et al.
Citation: Environmental Health, 21, 118
Date: 11/2022
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The Intersection of Workplace and Environmental Exposure on Health in Latinx Farm Working Communities in Rural Inland Southern California
Analyzes access and barriers to healthcare services for Eastern Coachella Valley rural farmworkers who are exposed to workplace and environmental health risks. Reports on 9 culturally responsive in-home interviews conducted from 2017 to 2018 with the assistance of a bilingual Spanish-Purépecha Latina promotora. Provides demographic information of participants and quotes from interviews related to themes such as environmental exposures, including the nearby Salton Sea; agricultural labor and its impact on health; chronic health conditions and trauma of exposures; and community-proposed solutions.
Author(s): Ann Marie Cheney, Tatiana Barrera, Katheryn Rodriguez, Ana María Jaramillo López
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12940
Date: 10/2022
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Through Natural Disaster to Prosperity: Five Principles to Improve Health and Economic Outcomes for Rural Communities and Native Nations
Describes 5 principles related to natural disasters and community resilience, including conditions that affect disaster vulnerability, relationships among rural communities and natural systems, equity in disaster response, local capacity, and responsive funding. Offers rural and tribal case studies and perspectives from rural economic and community development practitioners.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 10/2022
Sponsoring organization: Aspen Institute
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How To Improve Community Wildfire Defense Grants To Build Rural Resilience
Analyzes the impact of wildfires in northern New Mexico to plan for increased needs related to climate disasters in rural and vulnerable communities across the U.S. Discusses issues such as capacity in rural areas that create challenges when utilizing federal assistance. Provides suggestions for investments in built environment and collaborations across agencies to plan for grant funding that supports rural areas and increases rural resilience.
Author(s): Sofia Garcia George, Mark Haggerty
Date: 10/2022
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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Helping Western Tribal Communities Understand the Impacts of and Adaptation Options for Climate Change
Analyzes the impact of the Native Waters on Arid Lands project to educate tribal areas in the Great Basin and southwestern U.S. about climate change and its impacts on drought, precipitation, and groundwater. Discusses the need to build resiliency and infrastructure for ecological health and to protect tribal agriculture and water systems from climate change issues.
Author(s): Margaret Lawrence
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
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Partnership to Develop and Deliver Curriculum Supporting Student-Led Air Quality Research in Rural Washington State
Highlights a partnership between an urban and rural university and a tribal high school in Washington's Yakima Valley to conduct air-quality research. Discusses the design of the project, the roles and responsibilities of each party, and evaluates the success of the partnership.
Author(s): Orly Stampfer, Omar Torres Cassio, Jason A. Grajales, et al.
Citation: Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 16(3), 411-420
Date: 09/2022
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Incidental Sun Exposures as a Source of Sunburn Among Rural Compared to Urban Residents in the United States
Presents a study comparing sun exposure for people living in rural versus urban areas. Looks at sun exposure from leisure time activities and outdoor work for both rural and urban people.
Author(s): Patricia I. Jewett, Carrie Henning-Smith, DeAnn Lazovich, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 09/2022
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