Rural/Frontier Areas

Examples of community and culturally specific interventions:

• Community-based Approaches to Reducing Sexually Transmitted Diseases (CARS): Using community engagement methods and partnerships to build local STD prevention and control capacity, the purpose of CDC’s CARS project is to support the planning, implementation, and evaluation of innovative, interdisciplinary interventions.
• The NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis conducted formative research to enhance understanding of strengths and assets in rural places, identify key partners and change agents, and identify opportunities to leverage assets to improve rural health and equity: Exploring Strategies to Improve Health and Equity in Rural Communities
• In rural communities, health care and the overall vitality of the community are intrinsically linked. A robust community supports and sustains quality health and social services for its residents by attracting and retaining well-trained and committed health care professionals: Community Vitality and Rural Healthcare
• Duke’s Nurse-Led Models of Health Care Transform Delivery and Reduce Health Inequities: This is the first of a three-part series on nurse-led models of care that are making a difference in health outcomes for real people, families and communities. Introduced by Duke Nursing magazine.
• A lack of access to high-quality maternal health services in rural communities is the result of many factors, including hospital and obstetric department closures, workforce shortages, and access to care challenges arising from the social determinants of health, which have contributed to disparities in maternal health care for rural women and their babies. These access challenges can result in a number of negative maternal health outcomes including premature birth, low-birth weight, maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and increased risk of postpartum depression: Improving Access to Maternal Health Care in Rural Communities

Examples of policy and structural change:

• Becoming a rural health clinic in Oregon
• National Policy and Advocacy
• Rural health clinic certification process
• Starting a rural health clinic

Recommended readings:

• Small, rural communities are becoming abortion access battlegrounds
• The Loss of Roe Could Hinder Contraceptive Access in Rural Communities

Organizations highlight:

• CMS Medicare Rural Health Clinics Center
• National Association of Rural Health Clinics
• The Rural Health Information Hub