Curated List: Rural Health

Use aerobic, natural decomposition to divert food and yard waste from landfills and create a nutrient-rich soil amendment product on an individual or large scale

Purchase the land a home is on to lease to homeowners with low and middle incomes and require homeowners to sell the home back to the trust or to another resident with low income upon moving

Acquire, hold, manage, and develop properties such as vacant lots, abandoned buildings, or foreclosures, and transition them to productive uses, often affordable housing developments

Protect underground water resources via regular groundwater monitoring, education about risks to groundwater, water quotas and taxes, and other efforts

Establish local regulations for confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) that address location, size, facility management, and pollution contributions to complement U.S. EPA regulations

Establish regulations for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured chemicals, that address production, use, and environmental contamination

Distribute Naloxone to trained community members and first responders to reverse opioid overdoses

Provide sterile injection equipment and often other treatment and referral services to people who inject drugs; also called needle or syringe exchange programs and needle syringe programs

Organize workers to bargain collectively for improved wages, benefits, and working conditions

Expand broadband availability and adoption in unserved and underserved areas through initiatives that address infrastructure and cost barriers

Purchase the land a home is on to lease to homeowners with low and middle incomes and require homeowners to sell the home back to the trust or to another resident with low income upon moving

Purchase the land a home is on to lease to homeowners with low and middle incomes and require homeowners to sell the home back to the trust or to another resident with low income upon moving

Establish partnerships between farmers and consumers in which consumers purchase a share of a farm’s products in advance

Support multiple vendor markets where producers sell goods such as fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy items, and prepared foods directly to consumers

Acquire, hold, manage, and develop properties such as vacant lots, abandoned buildings, or foreclosures, and transition them to productive uses, often affordable housing developments

Teach students attitudes, skills, knowledge, and behavior needed to participate in and contribute to a democracy

Support locally-based visual, media, and performing arts initiatives for children and adults; also called participatory arts programs

Provide space to promote socializing among community members and offer programs and services such as recreational or educational activities, counseling or support services

Provide space to promote socializing among community members and offer programs and services such as recreational or educational activities, counseling or support services

Support financial institutions providing services to underserved and disadvantaged communities

Advance public health by using community organizing methods, such as developing leadership, campaigning, and building power to influence decisions, agendas, and worldviews, by collaborating with community organizing groups to use these methods, or both

Support businesses or organizations that aggregate, distribute, and market local and regional food products (e.g., fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, grains, and prepared items)

Return the rights to land, property, and resources to Native people as part of policies and initiatives that promote tribal sovereignty

Return the rights to land, property, and resources to Native people as part of policies and initiatives that promote tribal sovereignty

Provide gathering space, resources, educational, civic, and social programming, along with partnerships with community and service organizations, in support of community building efforts; open to the community and publicly funded

Provide gathering space, resources, educational, civic, and social programming, along with partnerships with community and service organizations, in support of community building efforts; open to the community and publicly funded

Establish transportation services for areas with low population densities using publicly funded buses and vans on a set schedule, dial-a-ride transit, volunteer ridesharing, etc.

Support and strengthen residents and communities who have experienced trauma and address effects of community trauma (e.g., poverty, violence, structural racism, etc.) via a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder, and multilevel approach

Implement retrofits to improve building envelopes, system efficiency, and renewable energy sources; comprehensive retrofits can become net zero energy buildings

Use aerobic, natural decomposition to divert food and yard waste from landfills and create a nutrient-rich soil amendment product on an individual or large scale

Deliver consultative, diagnostic, and treatment services remotely, especially for patients who live in areas with limited access to care or who experience transportation or mobility barriers; sometimes called telehealth

Establish a framework to increase walking and biking trails and improve connectivity of non-auto paths and trails in a particular area

Establish partnerships between farmers and consumers in which consumers purchase a share of a farm’s products in advance

Support multiple vendor markets where producers sell goods such as fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy items, and prepared foods directly to consumers

Combine hunger relief efforts with nutrition information and healthy eating opportunities, often with on-site cooking demonstrations, recipe tastings, produce display stands, etc.

Provide mental health care services (e.g., psychotherapy or counseling) via telephone or videoconference

Establish local regulations for confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) that address location, size, facility management, and pollution contributions to complement U.S. EPA regulations

Support businesses or organizations that aggregate, distribute, and market local and regional food products (e.g., fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, grains, and prepared items)

Increase support for non-profit health care organizations and deliver comprehensive care to uninsured, underinsured, and vulnerable patients regardless of ability to pay; often called community health centers (CHCs)

Provide outreach and support to assist those whose employers do not offer affordable coverage, who are self-employed, or who are unemployed

Expand medical school training and learning experiences focused on the skills necessary to practice successfully in rural areas

Provide health care services on school premises to attending elementary, middle, and high school students; physical and mental health services provided by teams of nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians

Deliver consultative, diagnostic, and treatment services remotely, especially for patients who live in areas with limited access to care or who experience transportation or mobility barriers; sometimes called telehealth

Expand the role of allied dental professionals (e.g., hygienists, therapists, etc.) via changes to statute, dentist supervision requirements, etc.

Engage professional or lay health workers to provide education, referral and follow-up, case management, home visiting, etc. for those who experience barriers in accessing health care; also called promotoras(es) de salud or community health representatives

Expand incentives such as scholarships and loans with service requirements and loan repayment or forgiveness programs for health care providers who practice in rural or other underserved areas

Offer reproductive health services (e.g., pregnancy tests, prenatal and postpartum care, gynecological exams, STI screenings, etc.), health education, and social service referrals via medically equipped vans

Provide reproductive health care services such as counseling, contraception, and testing in middle and high school-based health centers

Provide mental health care services (e.g., psychotherapy or counseling) via telephone or videoconference

Establish transportation services for areas with low population densities using publicly funded buses and vans on a set schedule, dial-a-ride transit, volunteer ridesharing, etc.

Make water readily available in various settings via regular placement of drinking fountains, water coolers, bottled water in vending machines, etc.

Establish a framework to increase walking and biking trails and improve connectivity of non-auto paths and trails in a particular area

Establish partnerships between farmers and consumers in which consumers purchase a share of a farm’s products in advance

Support multiple vendor markets where producers sell goods such as fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy items, and prepared foods directly to consumers

Combine hunger relief efforts with nutrition information and healthy eating opportunities, often with on-site cooking demonstrations, recipe tastings, produce display stands, etc.

Support businesses or organizations that aggregate, distribute, and market local and regional food products (e.g., fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, grains, and prepared items)

Provide career and technical education (CTE) as an integrated part of an academic curriculum for students, especially those at risk of dropping out of high school; also called vocational training

Provide child care, parent education, physical health and mental health services, and other family supports to pregnant women and parents with low incomes and children from birth to age three

Change state-level school finance systems to increase funding for school districts serving large populations of students from low income backgrounds, students of color, and students with disabilities, special needs, or limited English skills

Provide center-based programs that support cognitive and social-emotional growth among children who are not old enough to enter formal schooling

Provide health care services on school premises to attending elementary, middle, and high school students; physical and mental health services provided by teams of nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians

Incorporate technology into classroom instruction via computer-assisted instruction programs, computer-managed learning programs, use of interactive white boards, etc.

Teach students attitudes, skills, knowledge, and behavior needed to participate in and contribute to a democracy

Provide funding, primarily to families with low or middle incomes, to repair, improve, or modernize dwellings and remove health or safety hazards

Establish a framework to increase walking and biking trails and improve connectivity of non-auto paths and trails in a particular area

Purchase the land a home is on to lease to homeowners with low and middle incomes and require homeowners to sell the home back to the trust or to another resident with low income upon moving

Acquire, hold, manage, and develop properties such as vacant lots, abandoned buildings, or foreclosures, and transition them to productive uses, often affordable housing developments

Establish transportation services for areas with low population densities using publicly funded buses and vans on a set schedule, dial-a-ride transit, volunteer ridesharing, etc.

Organize workers to bargain collectively for improved wages, benefits, and working conditions

Organize workers to bargain collectively for improved wages, benefits, and working conditions

Expand broadband availability and adoption in unserved and underserved areas through initiatives that address infrastructure and cost barriers

Support financial institutions providing services to underserved and disadvantaged communities

Return the rights to land, property, and resources to Native people as part of policies and initiatives that promote tribal sovereignty

Establish transportation services for areas with low population densities using publicly funded buses and vans on a set schedule, dial-a-ride transit, volunteer ridesharing, etc.

Provide at-risk expectant parents and families with young children with information, support, and training regarding child health, development, and care from prenatal stages through early childhood via trained home visitors

Provide at-risk expectant parents and families with young children with information, support, and training regarding child health, development, and care from prenatal stages through early childhood via trained home visitors

Coordinate access to services across delivery systems and disciplinary boundaries (e.g., housing, disability, physical health, mental health, child welfare, workforce services, etc.)

Provide reproductive health care services such as counseling, contraception, and testing in middle and high school-based health centers