Module 3: Program Clearinghouse

This module describes examples of organizations that are implementing programs to advance health equity in rural communities. A few of these organizations are funded by the HRSA Federal Office of Rural Health Policy as part of the 330A Outreach Authority program, which focuses on expanding access to healthcare services in rural areas.

Strategies for advancing health equity are available in Module 2. These programs often address a range of social determinants of health as part of their efforts to advance health equity. The Social Determinants of Health Toolkit provides additional examples of rural communities addressing upstream factors that affect health outcomes.

• American Indian Cancer Foundation (AICAF)
  Project Title: Prevention & Policy Program
  Synopsis: This program provides technical assistance to help tribes address cancer risk factors through several strategies, including policy, systems, and environmental change.
• Health Equity and Access in Rural Regions (HEARR)
  Project Title: HEARR Water Quality Project
  Synopsis: This initiative established academic-community partnerships that seek to advance health equity and environmental justice in rural Virginia.
• Georgia Health Initiative (formerly the Healthcare Georgia Foundation)
  Project Title: Two Georgias Initiative
  Synopsis: This initiative supports local coalitions seeking to expand access to quality healthcare and achieve greater health equity among rural Georgians.
• Marshall Browning Hospital and Pinckneyville Hospital
  Project Title: Transition 2 Hope
  Synopsis: This initiative in rural Perry County, Illinois, is establishing cross-sector collaborations to address priority health issues in the community, including homelessness.
• Rice County Public Health
  Project Title: Health Equity Plan
  Synopsis: This local health department in rural Minnesota developed a health equity plan to address inequitable outcomes in the community.
• Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center (SEAHEC)
  Project Title: Healthy Farms Program
  Synopsis: This program used a community health worker model to engage community members in local health issues and eventually build permanent infrastructure to effect change.
• West Marion Inc.
  Synopsis: This coalition of community members and cross-sector partners in rural McDowell County, North Carolina, seeks to advance equity through policy and systems change.
• Williamson Health and Wellness Center
  Project Title: Healthy in the Hills Network
  Synopsis: This network of cross-sector partners in rural Mingo County, West Virginia, and Pike County, Kentucky, is improving physical environments and increasing access to opportunities for healthy living for community members.