Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Infrastructure

The Health Equity & Access for Rural Dually Eligible Individuals (HEARD) Toolkit: Raising Rural Voices from New Mexico, North Dakota, and Tennessee to Create Action
Provides an overview on the access barriers and health disparities of Medicaid and Medicare dually eligible individuals residing in rural areas. Presents research and stakeholder feedback from New Mexico, North Dakota, and Tennessee to provide information to policymakers. Discusses topics such as community planning related to equity and infrastructure, workforce capacity and community health workers (CHWs), and social determinants of health.
Author(s): Ellen Breslin, Samantha Di Paola, Susan McGeehan, Rebecca Kellenberg, Andrea Maresca
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Management Associates
view details
Barriers, Facilitators, and Opportunities to Promote Healthy Weight Behaviors among Preschool-Aged Children in Two Rural U.S Communities
Examines barriers, facilitators, and opportunities related to supporting wellness and healthy weight in rural preschool children. Utilizes focus group interviews with parents, caregivers, and community organizations as well as observation of built environment to assess healthy eating and physical activity resources. Discusses wellness barriers and facilitators for preschool children at the family, organization, and community levels.
Author(s): Katherine Jochim Pope, Cason Whitcomb, Maihan Vu, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health 23, 53
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
view details
Neighborhood Greenspace and Changes in Pediatric Obesity During COVID-19
Examines rates of pediatric obesity before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the pandemic as related to normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) or greenspace. Analyzes patient electronic health records (EHRs) of 81,418 children who had a pediatric visit between June 2019 and December 2019 and then again between June 2020 and December 2020. Includes demographic breakdowns of EHR patients by age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance type, neighborhood measures such as social/economic deprivation and supermarket access, and urban, suburban, or rural location.
Author(s): Stephanie L. Mayne, Shannon Kelleher, Chloe Hannan, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 64(1), 33-41
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
view details
Analysis of Wastewater Samples to Explore Community Substance Use in the United States: Pilot Correlative and Machine Learning Study
Analyzed wastewater samples from 12 locations in the United States to determine feasibility in using wastewater surveillance for monitoring substance use. Discusses using machine learning as a public health tool for analyzing data to identify communities with similar resource needs. Includes rural-specific concerns.
Author(s): Marie A. Severson, Sathaporn Onanong, Alexandra Dolezal, et al.
Citation: JMIR Formative Research, 7(2023), 45353
Date: 2023
Type: Document
view details
Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Performance Functions
Offers data for use in developing pedestrian and bicycle safety performance functions (SPFs) for transportation practitioners at all levels to better inform planning, design, and operations decisions. Includes statistics for a wide range of site types including roadway segments and intersections in rural, urban, and suburban areas.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Transportation Research Board
view details
Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural Areas
Provides an overview of the risk factors of rural roads, such as rough terrain, wildlife, and lack of services over long distances. Includes examples of how to define rural roads, a related literature review of behavioral strategies in rural environments; safety toolkits and training; statistics on crashes, fatalities, and injuries; examples of counties that have reduced crashes; and more.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Transportation Research Board
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
view details
2022 Communications Marketplace Report
Examines the state of competition across the broader communications marketplace, as well as laws, regulations, regulatory practices, or marketplace practices that pose a barrier to competitive entry and expansion of the marketplace. Identifies an emerging set of issues and opportunities presented by changes made in response to COVID-19. Includes data on tribal and rural areas throughout, including trends in broadband adoption and the percentage of households with multiple provider options between 2018-2021.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Communications Commission
view details
FCC's National Broadband Map: Implications for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program
Provides an overview of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) broadband mapping activities. Describes the November 2022 National Broadband Map and its implications for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which was created to provide broadband service to unserved locations. Discusses potential implications of inaccurate data in the National Broadband Map and challenges to the accuracy of the map, as well as considerations for Congress.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
view details
USDA's ReConnect Program: Expanding Rural Broadband
Provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's ReConnect program, which provides loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations to build and enhance broadband infrastructure in eligible rural service areas. Summarizes program details, funding allocations, the three rounds of awards, and funding awards by state. Compares the ReConnect program with other USDA broadband programs. Identifies issues that may impact the program's effectiveness, related legislation introduced in the 117th Congress, and potential policy options.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
view details
Office of Community Services (OCS) On Site: Live-to-Tape Site Visit to Ellendale, Delaware
Shows a site visit by the Director of the Division of Community Discretionary and Demonstration Programs (DCDDP) to rural Delaware to observe how the Rural Community Development (RCD) grant recipient South East Rural Community Action Partnership (SERCAP) is using funds to develop healthy water and wastewater services in rural communities. Transcript available under the description.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
view details