Module 3: Program Clearinghouse

This module describes programs addressing health literacy in rural communities. Some programs are funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP). The Community-Based Division (CBD) offers grant programs as part of the 330A Outreach Authority program, with the goal of identifying and implementing programs for rural community health and focuses on expanding access to healthcare services.

Examples of current CBD grantees and other organizations that have developed promising programs to improve health literacy in a rural community are provided below. For more information about the evidence-based and promising models and approaches for improving health literacy described in this section, see Module 2.

• Bi-State Primary Care Association
  Synopsis: The Bi-State Primary Care Association's Vermont Food Access in Health Care program provides training and technical assistance to increase effective health communication among clinicians and other healthcare providers in rural Vermont and New Hampshire.
• Cornerstone Care
  Synopsis: Cornerstone Care is implementing an integrated care model to improve health literacy and health outcomes for patients with the goal of reducing visits to the emergency department.
• Doña Ana County Health and Human Services
  Synopsis: The Salud y Vida Con Amigos project aims to improve health literacy in five rural agricultural communities in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, by increasing access to health information through virtual and in-person trainings delivered in both English and Spanish by promotoras.
• Purchase District Health Department
  Synopsis: The Purchase District Health Department is working to increase health literacy by delivering education to increase understanding of instructions, diagnoses, medications, and other health information.
• Lake Okeechobee Rural Health Network
  Synopsis: This rural health network is based in Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Its goals are to improve healthcare access, health literacy, health insurance enrollment, and health outcomes through care coordination and delivering workshops on topics such as health literacy and chronic disease self-management.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Health Sciences Library
  Synopsis: This UNC project serves 4 rural counties in North Carolina and uses a train-the-trainer approach to empower public library staff to serve as health information experts.
• University of Maryland Horowitz Center
  Synopsis: This research center is dedicated to promoting health literacy through research, education, and service projects. These projects aim to increase knowledge about the importance of health literacy in many areas, including oral health, diabetes prevention and management, and COVID-19 vaccines. The goal is to inform and empower individuals to make informed health decisions and equip organizations to remove health literacy barriers.