Top 10 Rural Monitor Articles of 2024

Here is a countdown of the most-read articles of the year:

#10 – Strategic Collaboration: The Key to Moving Rural Healthcare Forward

Strategic collaboration allows rural organizations to combine resources and expertise to improve care and patient outcomes. Southern Illinois Healthcare, the Iowa Primary Care Association, and Minnesota's Winona Community HUB share how strategic collaboration has helped them conduct community health needs assessments, provide technical assistance to community health centers, connect patients to food and housing, and much more.

Published March 27, 2024

#9 – Growing the Rural Physician Workforce: Decades of Federal Funding Impacts Rural Graduate Medical Education

From the 2036 physician supply predictions: 6% shortage in urban, but 56% in rural. With supply influenced by 100 years of attitudes, health policies, and federal funding, this historical review leads up to the recent decades of new federal funding and policies that experts said will be changing this geographic maldistribution of physicians.

Published November 6, 2024

#8 – Primary Care Providers Fill Rural Gaps in Autism Resources

Timely interventions and support can be life-changing for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families, but are often inaccessible in rural communities.

Published July 10, 2024

#7 – 'A Silent, Unmet Need': Rural Motherhood and the Challenges of Postpartum Care

Maternal deaths have increased in the U.S., with half of those deaths occurring in the year after childbirth. In many rural communities, accessing necessary postpartum care has become increasingly difficult.

Published October 23, 2024

#6 – An 'Unseen' Struggle: Addressing Hoarding Disorder in Rural Communities

Hoarding disorder can lead to serious health risks and a hazardous home environment, with older adults especially vulnerable – but in rural places, diagnosing and treating the condition can be a challenge.

Published February 7, 2024

#5 – "Economic Development is Population Health": A New Vision for Rural Hospital Leadership

A growing number of rural hospital leaders are beginning to view their infrastructure, purchasing, and investment strategies as crucial extensions of their efforts to improve community health — and, in the long term, bolster their bottom line.

Published April 24, 2024

#4 – Produce Prescription Programs Offer 'A Holistic Approach' to Addressing Rural Food Insecurity and Diet-Related Disease

Produce prescription programs have gained popularity in recent years as a model for addressing food insecurity and diet-related disease. While such programs are still uncommon in rural areas, those that do exist report wide-ranging impacts on participants and local food systems.

Published January 24, 2024

#3 – Loneliness and Social Isolation Are Common in Rural America. Is "Social Infrastructure" the Solution?

While loneliness and social isolation are often viewed as individual problems or even personal failings, there is growing awareness of the structural factors contributing to widespread disconnection. Amid a national "loneliness epidemic," some rural leaders are finding ways to help their neighbors connect.

Published June 12, 2024

#2 – Rural Community Health Worker Programs: Proving Value and Finding Sustainability

For decades, community health workers (CHWs) provided their services outside usual healthcare reimbursement models. In recent years, with research supporting CHWs as professionals effectively assisting patients with navigating health-related social determinants, federal and private payers are exploring reimbursement mechanisms. Four rural healthcare organizations share both the impact and the continued sustainability challenges — and successes — of their CHW programs.

Published July 24, 2024

#1 – Facing Disproportionate Danger, Rural Communities Take a Grassroots Approach to Road Safety

While an estimated 20% of Americans live in rural areas, 40% of traffic deaths occur on rural roads.

Published April 10, 2024