This website is being reviewed for updates. Some information is offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Networking and collaboration

The DNA of Program Sustainability: Findings from a Study of Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Grantees
Reports on the factors that contribute to program sustainability after grant funding ends, based on a study of Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program grantees. Discusses leadership, collaboration, alignment between need and demand, data use, and policy expertise as contributors to sustainability for rural programs.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Health Policy Center
view details
RWHC Hospital Trustee Manual
Collection of brief articles covering hospital governance. Includes meeting ground rules, responsibilities and liabilities of non-profit directors, board self-assessment, ensuring quality care, financial stewardship, population health improvement, leadership development, and advocacy for rural health, among other topics.
Date: 06/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative
view details
Ground Truth from Rural Practitioners
Shares the results of a survey of national and regional organizations serving rural communities in 44 states to provide analysis and information on their characteristics, expertise, diversity, and needs. Includes information on how these rural serving organizations engage in public policy discussions and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their work.
Date: 06/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Aspen Institute, Housing Assistance Council
view details
Developing and Implementing Farm Stress Training to Address Agricultural Producer Mental Health
Offers an overview of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency online training program for agribusiness professionals to offer mental health resources to farmers and ranchers. Describes issues of mental healthcare access for rural and farm populations and the process of developing the training program, as well as challenges, successes, and practical implications of the program.
Author(s): Courtney Cuthbertson, Alison Brennan, John Shutske, et al.
Citation: Health Promotion Practice, 1524839920931849
Date: 06/2020
view details
Developing a Science Outreach Program and Promoting "PhUn" All Year with Rural K-12 Students
Discusses a university-led health science outreach effort in rural northern Michigan that implemented national physiology and biomechanics educational programming in K-12 schools. Addresses the importance of science and health science programming in rural areas due to limited exposure to career options and the need for rural students to consider health careers to offset healthcare shortages. Provides an overview of the outreach program with lessons learned.
Author(s): Jana L. Hendrickson, Thomas K. Bye, Benjamin A. Cockfield, Kathryn R. Carter, Steven J. Elmer
Citation: Advances in Physiology Education, 44(2), 212-216
Date: 06/2020
view details
Expect Delays: Poor Connections Between Rural and Urban Health Systems Challenge Multidisciplinary Care for Rural Americans with Diabetic Foot Ulcers
Investigates communication barriers between rural and urban health systems to identify factors that may be contributing to higher risk of major amputation among rural patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) compared to urban patients with DFUs. Barriers for rural providers include time-consuming referrals; poor interactions with urban providers; and data sharing issues due to multiple, disconnected electronic health records.
Author(s): Bryn L. Sutherland, Kristen Pecanac, Christie M. Bartels, Meghan B. Brennan
Citation: Journal of Foot and Ankle Research, 13(1), 32
Date: 06/2020
view details
Missouri Rapid Rural Population Health Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Provides overview of how University of Missouri Extension was able to respond to rural counties during COVID-19. Examines challenges for rural Missourians related to COVID-19 including limited access to rural hospitals, lack of broadband internet, and chronic diseases prevalent in rural populations. Discusses partnerships between state governments and land grant universities to address current and future pandemics and epidemics.
Author(s): Kathleen Quinn, Jennifer L. Eldridge Houser, Julie M. Kapp
Citation: Missouri Medicine, 117(3), 177-179
Date: 05/2020
view details
Revealing Rural Realities: What Fuels Inaccurate and Incomplete Coverage of Rural Issues?
Report discussing the representation and misrepresentation of rural issues and prosperity in national and regional news media and journalism. Offers recommendations to journalists based on interviews in 2019 with rural experts, activists, and journalists, and a media scan to analyze coverage of rural America in national and regional news. Identifies rural healthcare as a common topic of coverage, noting media emphasis on negative aspects of rural life including hospital closures, health disparities, and suicide.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Aspen Institute, Center for Rural Strategies, Hattaway Communications, Rural Housing Assistance Council
view details
Home on the Range: Plans and Providers Team Up to Bring Palliative Care to Rural Californians
Report discussing challenges and solutions to expanding palliative care access in rural California. Addresses barriers related to enrollment, staffing, and sustainability as well as strategies for creating partnerships between communities, healthcare systems, human services organizations, and other rural groups. Appendix features a chart listing health plans and rural providers offering palliative care services, with descriptions for each.
Author(s): Kathleen Kerr, Monique Parrish, Lyn Ceronsky
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: California Health Care Foundation
view details
Embracing the Power of Show-Me ECHO Learning Communities to Transform Clinical Practice in Missouri
Describes the Show-Me ECHO project, a collaborative video and case-based healthcare education model in Missouri that facilitates professional development across the state. Describes Show-Me ECHO's role in bringing clinicians together to share and learn through practical and experiential knowledge in order to expand healthcare access in rural and underserved communities. Specifically addresses Show-Me ECHO's impacts on knowledge sharing and collaboration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Author(s): Lea Brandt, Melissa Warne-Griggs, Kimberly Hoffman, Lori Popejoy, E. Rachel Mutrux
Citation: Missouri Medicine, 117(3), 216-221
Date: 05/2020
view details