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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Needs assessment methods and resources

Engaging Communities Through Issues Forums: A How-To Guide for Onsite and Online Community Engagement
Offers guidance on community forums as a technical education tool, including information on planning and hosting a forum, strategies for engaging communities, and resources to support committees and stakeholders. Features examples from forums on farm vitality, farmer mental health, and family health. Requires email registration to view the guide as a flipbook, with a PDF download option at the bottom of the screen.
Author(s): Maria Pippidis, Bonnie Braun, Jessie Ketterman, Shoshanah Inwood, Nicole Wright
Date: 03/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Cooperative Extension Service
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Examining Child Maltreatment Reports Using Linked County-Level Data
Report examining the insights that county-level data can provide on child maltreatment based on various national sources, including the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), the U.S. Census, and others. Investigates rural-specific data and rural/nonrural comparisons in associations between risk factors, report rates, child poverty, and child maltreatment.
Author(s): Brenda Smith, Qingyi Li, Kun Wang
Date: 11/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Mathematica, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Linking Administrative Data to Improve Understanding of Child Maltreatment Incidence and Related Risk and Protective Factors: A Feasibility Study
Examines the feasibility of linking data from local, state, and federal administrative agencies, such as child welfare, health, social service, education, and others, in order to produce new information on child maltreatment. Discusses rural-specific data concerns.
Author(s): Andrea Mraz Esposito, Claire Smither Wulsin, Leah Pranschke, Andrew Burwick, Rebekka Nickman
Date: 11/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Mathematica, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Human Services Programs in Rural Contexts: Mixed Methods Analysis, Integration, and Triangulation Plan
Analysis plan outlining the research design and methodology of a study of human services delivery in rural areas funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). Covers stakeholder engagement, research questions and qualitative data collection, data analysis, and integration of findings.
Author(s): Dallas J. Elgin, Kelly McAleer, James Murdoch, et al.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: 2M Research, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Urban Institute
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Broadband: FCC Is Taking Steps to Accurately Map Locations that Lack Access
Describes efforts by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop a location fabric, a geographically specific, granular dataset, representing existing and necessary broadband deployment sites. Presents findings from an examination of potential geographic data sources, surveys of 44 states and territories, and interviews with state and federal agency stakeholders. Discusses limitations related to the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of location data.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Community Assessment for Mental and Physical Health Effects After Hurricane Irma — Florida Keys, May 2019
Reports results from the use of Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) to evaluate suicide risk in a micropolitan county with frequent hurricane landfall. Discusses the need to include long-term mental health service delivery as part of emergency preparedness planning for disasters such as hurricanes.
Author(s): Yaritbel Torres-Mendoza, Alison Kerr, Amy Helene Schnall, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 70(26), 937-941
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Arizona's Physician Shortage: Monitoring Rural Physician Retention and Relocation
Brief discussing rural physician shortage issues in Arizona, offering national-level standards for physician age, education, and structural factors impacting retention. Offers recommendations related to physician surveys to monitor shortages and workforce needs in the state.
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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Rural Community-based Palliative Care: Improving Health and Reducing Disparities in Access and Services
Toolkit describing a framework for the development of rural community-based palliative care capacity and services. Includes information and links to resources regarding assessing community needs, foundational tools, process development, service implementation.
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Stratis Health
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Increase Healthy Beverage Consumption and Reduce Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs): A Community Roadmap
Interactive resource provides guidance for tribal communities to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and promote healthy beverage options. Provides resources and information to support healthy beverage programs, such as how to conduct a needs assessment, identify stakeholders, and choose an appropriate strategy.
Date: 02/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Notah Begay III Foundation
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Population Health in Rural America in 2020: Proceedings of a Workshop
Presents the proceedings of the Population Health in Rural America 2020 workshop. Chapters examine rural demographics and social determinants of health, rural health and data challenges, rural and tribal healthcare, community health needs assessment, and rural health policy.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice
Date: 2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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