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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Social determinants of health

The State of Health in New Mexico 2018
Describes the health status for the population of New Mexico in rural and urban areas. Provides statistics on multiple health indicators, such as socioeconomic status, maternal and child health, chronic disease, substance use, and injury, among others.
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: New Mexico Department of Health
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Social Determinants of Health: Transforming the Buzz Phrase to a Rural Action Item
Discusses how rural healthcare organizations can use social risk assessments as a tool to improve population health. Highlights the work of two rural organizations, CommWell Health in North Carolina and Tift Regional Health System in Georgia, to assess social risks and address patients' social determinants of health (SDOH).
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Countering the Production of Health Inequities: Ensuring the Opportunity for Health for All
Examines determinants of health, such as environment, housing, public safety, education, employment, income, and access to healthcare, and the ways they affect groups including rural residents. Features policy recommendations, community examples, and possible solutions to health inequities.
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Prevention Institute
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Achieving Rural Health Equity and Well-Being: Proceedings of a Workshop
Proceedings of a workshop designed to explore impacts of economic issues, immigration, and racial inequities in healthcare in rural communities and to learn about asset-based approaches to addressing these challenges. Features statistics including average life expectancy at birth from 1969-2009 with breakdowns by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, U.S. maps showing levels of poverty and employment, and a chart showing numbers of rural hospital closures from 2005-2017.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Hospitals and Health Systems Ensuring Access in Their Communities: A Compendium of Case Examples
Identifies 9 primary strategies used by hospitals to increase access to healthcare services in rural and urban areas and offers examples of each. Covers virtual care options such as telehealth, emergency and urgent care models such as freestanding emergency departments (EDs), rural hospital networks, partnerships with Indian Health Service providers, and strategies to address social determinants of health.
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Current State of Child Health in Rural America: How Context Shapes Children's Health
Describes the health status of children in rural America. Highlights the components of the rural environment that may affect children's health and health outcomes, including economic characteristics, healthcare provider availability, behavior health risks, and usage of health services.
Author(s): Janice C. Probst, Judith C. Barker, Alexandra Enders, Paula Gardiner
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 34(Suppl 1), s3–s12
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
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Rural Child Welfare Practice
Issue brief discussing the needs and concerns of rural children and families, including healthcare and social services. Examines factors linked to child maltreatment, such as poverty, violence, and substance use, and features descriptions of successful programs designed to promote child welfare in rural areas of Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, and Colorado, as well as Appalachian Ohio and Kentucky.
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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Exploring Strategies to Improve Health and Equity in Rural Communities
Identifies the strengths and assets of rural communities, key partners, change agents, and opportunities to leverage assets to improve rural health and equity through a national forum of over 400 national and regional cross-sector stakeholders. Findings were organized into 4 categories: individual assets, organizational assets, community assets, and cultural assets. Includes discussion on challenges and opportunities for action for each asset category.
Additional links: Leveraging Culture and History to Improve Health and Equity in Rural Communities, Recommendations for Philanthropies and Government Agencies to Improve Health and Equity in Rural Communities, Supporting Change Agents Across Sectors to Improve Health and Equity in Rural Communities
Author(s): Michael Meit
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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National Trends in Drinking Water Quality Violations
Examines patterns in health-related violations in the Safe Drinking Water Act by analyzing data from 17,900 community water systems from 1982-2015. Identifies vulnerability factors in communities and water systems. Includes a rural and urban comparison of total violations by water system, and provides county-level information on violation hot spots and spatial trends in community water systems.
Author(s): Maura Allaire, Haowei Wu, Upmanu Lall
Citation: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 115(9), 2078-2083
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
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Health Care Innovation Across Rural Maryland: An Executive Summary
Details the different innovations in Maryland's rural healthcare delivery. Summarizes each innovation funded by the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission (CHRC) and discusses their impact on rural communities.
Date: 01/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maryland Rural Health Association
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