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Rural Health Information Hub

Community Vitality and Rural Healthcare – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Community Vitality and Rural Healthcare.

Access Granted: Rural Broadband Options, Obstacles, and Solutions
Report describing the importance of broadband access for rural education, healthcare, economic development, equality, and climate impact. Discusses connectivity options and barriers to expanding broadband infrastructure, and examines consumer, community, and policy actions to reduce barriers and expand access.
Author(s): Molly Malone
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Affairs
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Less Internet Access Available for Rural Residents in Counties with Persistent Poverty in the U.S. Deep South and Southwest
County-level map depicting internet availability and persistent poverty counties, distinguishing rural and urban counties. Chart based on USDA Economic Research Service calculations and Federal Communications Commission Form 477 Broadband Deployment data.
Date: 01/2022
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Principal Ideas: How Can We Secure Enduring Capital for Equitable Rural Prosperity?
Brief exploring funding sources and capital formation in rural communities and tribal nations, covering various forms of public and philanthropic funding. Highlights examples of rural capital building and innovative rural financial models.
Date: 12/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Aspen Institute
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2021 Impact Report: Measuring the Economic and Human Impact of Nonprofit Organizations in Rural America
Highlights key federal programs that support affordable housing and community infrastructure, including water and wastewater disposal. Features successful rural housing programs, describing their work and impact, including health-related improvements and services.
Date: 12/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Housing Coalition
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Rural Development and Rural Health Practices: Trends and Opportunities for Alignment
Issue brief examining the fields of rural economic development and rural public health and healthcare, highlighting positive changes brought about by collaborations between these fields and potentials for rural prosperity. Discusses community asset-based rural development, organized efforts to respond to health challenges, data-driven decision making, and more.
Author(s): Brian Dabson, Victoria Faust
Date: 11/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Aspen Institute
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Capturing Shared Impacts of the Partners for Rural Transformation: Advancing Rural Prosperity
Research report detailing how the 6 member institutions of the Partners for Rural Transformation are working to make progress toward and meet their shared goals, and lays out a framework for measuring future shared impacts and an agenda for action to build on successes. Includes a section on progress toward economic mobility, racial justice, and health equity.
Author(s): Corianne Payton Scally, Brett Theodos, Yipeng Su, et al.
Date: 10/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Urban Institute
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Affordability and Availability: Expanding Broadband in the Black Rural South
Report examining broadband access in African American communities in the rural South. Highlights economic, healthcare, and educational opportunities that accompany broadband access. Discusses financial and policy barriers to broadband access in the Black rural South and offers policy recommendations to increase access.
Author(s): Dominique Harrison
Date: 10/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
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Reenvisioning Rural America
Examines census tracts designated as micropolitan, small town, and isolated rural by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) code system, offering a typology of tracts based on assets and strengths. Organizes rural census tracts into categories including accessible, energy-rich hubs; high-employment agricultural areas; centers of wealth and health; and more. Includes a data map with information on each category of rural census tract and population, government, and geographic information for each tract.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Urban Institute
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Data Show U.S. Poverty Rates in 2019 Higher in Rural Areas than in Urban for Racial/Ethnic Groups
Bar chart comparing rural and urban percentages of residents living in poverty in 2019, broken down by race/ethnicity based on data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, and the 2019 American Community Survey.
Date: 08/2021
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Redefining Rural: What Rural Prosperity and the Geography of Newly Affluent Rural Communities Tells Us About Rural Development
Examines rural prosperity data and changes for counties that grew in, maintained, or slipped in prosperity from 2000 to 2018, using American Community Survey (ACS) and U.S. Census Bureau data. Offers tables breaking down prosperity according to rates of high school degree holders, poverty rate, employment, housing vacancy, and income, including comparisons between rural and non-rural counties. Presents a case study analysis on rural prosperity in Texas.
Author(s): Kennedy O'Dell
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Economic Innovation Group
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Last Updated: 4/19/2024