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Resources by Topic: Social determinants of health

"Economic Development is Population Health": A New Vision for Rural Hospital Leadership
Describes the role that rural hospital investments can play in contributing to community health. Features a Wisconsin Critical Access Hospital making infrastructure investments in their downtown and a New Hampshire medical center investing in public transit and affordable housing.
Author(s): Brendan Stermer
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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San Luis Valley Hospital Delivers When Families Need Obstetric Care
Podcast episode describing challenges with offering obstetric care in rural Colorado. Discusses services offered, cross-training, behavioral health and substance use, and social determinants of health. Offers strategies for other hospitals offering maternal healthcare. Transcript is below the audio player.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Locations and Characteristics of Pharmacy Deserts in the United States: A Geospatial Study
Classifies census tracts as pharmacy deserts or non-pharmacy deserts. Compares pharmacy desert and non-pharmacy desert areas by various social determinants of health and pharmacy characteristics including rurality. See the supplemental materials for state-by-state and rural/urban comparisons.
Author(s): Rachel Wittenauer, Parth D. Shah, Jennifer L. Bacci, Andy Stergachis
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 2(4)
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
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The First 1,000 Days of Life: Creating Brighter Futures for New Moms and Babies
Podcast episode featuring a discussion with leaders from Intermountain Healthcare and St. James Health Care in Butte, Montana, regarding how their initiatives provide wraparound and intensive case management services to at-risk new moms from pregnancy through their baby's first two years. Includes a discussion with a former program participant.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Illinois Health Outcomes Disparities Report 2024
Provides an overview regarding the connection between human services access and health disparities in Illinois, with a focus on rural communities and people of color. Discusses persistent health disparities, root causes of inequities, and developing systems of care to address inequities. Includes county-level data on infant mortality, mental health, primary care, and food insecurity.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Illinois Department of Human Services
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Eviction and the Rental Housing Crisis in Rural America
Analyzes 220,000 renter evictions taking place in rural counties. Utilizes 2000-2018 data from Eviction Lab's national eviction database and includes data breakdowns according to rural versus urban evictions, race/ethnicity, family structure, work and poverty, housing market, and more.
Author(s): Carl Gershenson, Matthew Desmond
Citation: Rural Sociology, 89(1), 86-105
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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Strategies to Eliminate Inequity in PrEP Services in the US South and Rural Communities
Examines novel and promising programs and interventions to potentially improve HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) access in the U.S. South and rural communities. Describes ways to normalize, digitalize, and simplify PrEP care.
Author(s): Emiko Kamitani, Yuko Mizuno, Linda J. Koenig
Citation: Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 35(2), 153-160
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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American Clusters: Using Machine Learning to Understand Health and Health Care Disparities in the United States
Demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of using machine learning (ML) to identify social determinants of health, healthcare access, healthcare infrastructure, and geography factors contributing to health inequalities. Discusses use of ML in policy, with different levels of geography, and in future research.
Author(s): Diane M. Bowser, Kaili Maurico, Brielle A. Ruscitti, William H. Crown
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 2(3)
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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Partnerships to Address Social Needs Across Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Prospective Payment System Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals
Explores the extent to which hospitals partner with community organizations to address population and/or community health needs. Analyzes data from the 2021 American Hospital Association Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Supplement to describe the number and types of hospital partnerships with community-based organizations. Compares results by hospital type - metropolitan prospective payment system (PPS), Critical Access Hospital (CAH), and non-metropolitan PPS - and by U.S. Census region, ownership status, and accountable care organization (ACO) participation.
Author(s): Whitney E. Zahnd, Khyathi Gadag, Kristin D. Wilson, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Use of the Area Deprivation Index and Rural Applications in the Peer-Reviewed Literature
Brief discusses the use of the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) in peer-reviewed literature and interrogates how deprivation is defined and how the ADI is related to rurality. Defines ADI based on a literature review and explores the co-usage of ADI and rural in the literature. Recommends future research topics related to ADI and rurality.
Author(s): Casey P. Balio, Nicole Galler, Stephanie M. Mathis, et al.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Equity Research Center
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