Tagged With "Walk Across Arkansas"
Blog Post
Counties step up mental health services in time of COVID
https://www.naco.org/articles/counties-step-mental-health-services As the tolls of physical distancing and economic uncertainty, along with anxiety resulting from the many unknowns of the novel coronavirus, add up to emotional stress and turmoil, effective mental health services have proven crucial to keeping residents functioning while they wait out a return to a somewhat familiar life. Nearly one-third of Americans have been reporting signs of anxiety or depression since the pandemic...
Blog Post
County Health Rankings and Roadmaps - COVID-19 Response and Recovery Resources
Although you are undoubtedly familiar with the County Heath Rankings and Roadmaps , you may not be aware of a new section their website which includes a collection of COVID-19 response and recovery resources . As communities across the nation transition from response to recovery, the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps team has pulled together a “one-stop shop” on where people and organizations can find: What Works for Health COVID-19 Strategies: Curated evidence-informed strategies—...
Blog Post
American Journal of Public Health Includes Commentary of Cooperative Extension
Cooperative Extension is the subject of an article in a forthcoming special issue of the American Journal of Public Health focused on rural health. The commentary, co-authored by David Buys and Roger Rennekamp, "advances the notion that Extension, by working hand-in-hand with public health professionals, has an important role to play in addressing the health needs of rural communities." The article highlights five key steps that Extension can take with its public health partners to improve...
Blog Post
National Academy of Medicine - Community-Driven Health Equity Action Plans
As part of its Culture of Health Program , earlier this year the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) released a model for developing Community-Driven Health Equity Action Plans , as well as Community-Driven Health Equity Action Plans developed by groups from across the country with facilitation from the NAM. The model and completed plans are intended to serve as resources for communities as well as state and national organizers interested in advancing health equity at the community level. The...
Blog Post
The Moral Determinants of Health
The source of what the philosopher Immanuel Kant called “the moral law within” may be mysterious, but its role in the social order is not. In any nation short of dictatorship some form of moral compact, implicit or explicit, should be the basis of a just society. Without a common sense of what is “right,” groups fracture and the fragments wander. Science and knowledge can guide action; they do not cause action. No scientific doubt exists that, mostly, circumstances outside health care...
Blog Post
Immigrants and Rural Economies Weathering the Pandemic Together
Immigrant workers and their families are a dynamic force behind recent population upturns or stabilization across rural America. In fact, between 2010 and 2016, immigrants from around the world were responsible for 37 percent of net rural population growth. Rural communities that rely on the economic drivers of tourism and recreation and essential services like health care and food production have been hit hard by the impact of COVID-19. Due to multiple risk and systemic factors, the many...
Blog Post
NEW Health Equity Blog Series from the National Health Law Program
Health Equity: A Blog Series The Coronavirus pandemic has upended life for people across the United States and the world. But the experience and severity are not equal. In the United States, deep inequities, rooted in a history of exploitation and maltreatment of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), are making the COVID crisis worse. Intersecting communities of people, including people with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals, and women, have been systematically “otherized” to the...
Blog Post
Millennum Health Signals Report - COVID-19 Special Edition
Background • Public health officials across the country are reporting spikes in drug overdose deaths that appear to be associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 30 states reporting increases in opioid-involved overdose deaths primarily related to illicit fentanyl1 • Public health emergencies typically affect communities and individuals in a variety of ways, including economic loss and instability, emotional or physical isolation, additional stressors from mass at-home confinement, and...
Blog Post
eXtension Fellowships in Health and Well Being
I am pleased to announce that we have initiated a search to fill two open eXtension fellowships focused on health and well being. The work of the fellows will broadly focus on building the capacity of the Cooperative Extension System to ensure that all people have an equal opportunity to experience optimal health and well being across the lifespan. Much of this will be accomplished through a Connect Extension subgroup where fellows will work as a team to foster identification and sharing of...
Blog Post
Driving System Change Forward
In the new report Driving Systems Change Forward , authored by the Urban Institute and published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco , you’ll read key lessons from multi-site networks from across the country about what it takes to advance systems change forward by shifting power and promoting racial equity. Join us for a free virtual coffee chat on August 31 from 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm ET with one of the report authors— Corianne Scally —from the Urban Institute and contributing...
Blog Post
Connect Extension Virtual Chat: Health Equity and Its Implications for Extension Practice
Click here at 1 PM ET on September 24th to Enter The Chat! According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) a health disparity exists when one group bears a higher burden of illness, injury, disability, or mortality relative to another as a result of conditions closely linked to social, economic, or environmental disadvantage. Conversely, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) defines health equity as a desired state where “everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as...
Blog Post
Social Determinants of Health in Rural Populations
Social determinants of health are defined by the World Health Organization as "the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age." For rural populations, many of these elements are less favorable than within urban areas. Building on work conducted by the Rural and Minority Health Research Center, this presentation will review some of the key elements associated with health across rural White and minority populations, such as education, income, and health facility...
Blog Post
Rural Mortality Penalty is Wide and Growing
After decades of lower or similar mortality rates in rural areas than in urban areas of the U.S., a rural mortality penalty emerged in the 1990s and has grown since the mid-2000s. Although the rural–urban mortality gap has widened across all major racial/ethnic groups over the past 30 years, it has widened the most among working-age non-Hispanic (NH) whites. A research brief in the Population Research and Policy Review summarizes the results of a study that examined rural-urban differences...
Blog Post
HRSA National Rural Health Day - November 19
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is hosting a variety of events throughout the week of November 16 to celebrate National Rural Health Day (NRHD) on November 19. While these events are open to the public, registration is required for some events. NRHD is HRSA’s opportunity to showcase the work and accomplishments across the agency supporting rural health. For more information and a a schedule of events for each day, visit ...
Blog Post
Celebrating "Can Do" Spirit on National Rural Health Day
The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health sets aside the third Thursday of every November to celebrate National Rural Health Day. National Rural Health Day is an opportunity to “Celebrate the Power of Rural” by honoring the selfless, community-minded, “can do” spirit that prevails in rural America, gives us a chance to bring to light the unique healthcare challenges that rural citizens face, and showcase the efforts of rural healthcare providers, State Offices of Rural...
Blog Post
REPOST: With a Focus on Equity, Geography No Longer Has To Be Destiny
By Olugbenga Ajilore and Katrina Badger November 19, 2020, 3:51 pm This article was originally posted on The Center for American Progress website and is reposted here with permission. To read the full article visit https://ampr.gs/3pJaNQ6 . Regardless of where people in the United States live—rural, urban, or somewhere in between—the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their lives and livelihoods . Certain groups are suffering disproportionately, including people of color, workers with low...
Blog Post
The Role of Social Science in Communication about COVID-19
In the latest issue of "Why Social Science?" Caitlin Burgdorf and her co-authors discuss the role of social science in communicating about COVID-19. "The COVID-19 pandemic has caused extraordinary devastation, claiming millions of lives and disrupting the economy and daily life across the globe. From the beginning, the course of the pandemic has depended on behavior – for example, whether people would engage in recommended public health actions like mask wearing and social distancing.
Comment
Re: ELI5: The Social Determinants of Health
Many years ago, I participated in a book study of A Framework for Understanding Poverty , by Dr. Ruby Payne. While her work has sometimes been criticized for being a framework using a white, middle-class lens of the issue, it garnered significant traction is raising awareness and providing for conversations about poverty across many sectors, professions, and communities. Your ELI5 article stirs up many of the same opportunities. It is hard for an individual to look at things from another...
Blog Post
Rural health and well-being: Findings from the Rural Families Speak about Health Project
The Forum for Family and Consumer Issues recently published a special issue focused on the health and well-being of rural low-income families. www.theforumjournal.org Research findings and implications from two multistate studies involving over 1,000 low-income families in rural communities across 17 states are reported. Study implications can help strengthen existing Extension efforts, as well as inform new efforts that aim to improve rural, low-income family health and well-being.
Blog Post
International Conference on Urban Health
The International Society for Urban Health (ISUH) invites you to join their 17th International Conference on Urban Health: 2021 hosted online by SALURBAL and project partners across Latin America. Join an international network of interdisciplinary urban health researchers, policymakers, business leaders, practitioners, and grassroots community advocates to exchange ideas, advance research, and drive action across sectors, transforming urban environments to promote health and environmental...
Blog Post
Keep Your Patients Healthy Throughout Adulthood by Improving Nutrition
Authors: Dana DeSilva, PhD, RD, ORISE Health Policy Fellow, and LT Dennis Anderson-Villaluz, MBA, RD, LDN, FAND, Nutrition Advisor, U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Adults’ dietary patterns often reflect habits that they established during childhood and adolescence. Sometimes, this means carrying unhealthy habits into adulthood — but it’s never too late to make changes. Health educators can use the Dietary Guidelines for...
Comment
Re: Keep Your Patients Healthy Throughout Adulthood by Improving Nutrition
Thank you so much for this excellent summary of the current status healthy eating across the United States and a convenient link to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020 - 2025.
Blog Post
Engaged Communities Make Strides in Addressing the Opioid Epidemic
The opioid epidemic is a national issue impacting communities across the country. It was declared a public health emergency in October 2017. Communities have mobilized at the national, state, and local level to address the problem, and Cooperative Extension has partnered with them in their efforts. The drivers and impacts of the opioid crisis in communities are complex and require a multi-level response. We employed a stakeholder engagement methodology, the SEED Method , to create...
Blog Post
RFA for Well Connected Communities - Wave 3
I am happy to share the Request for Applications (RFA) for seven additional land grant institutions to become a part of the Well Connected Communities Initiative. National 4-H Council through the generous support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation seeks to showcase land grant universities that are modeling how Cooperative Extension is already working in new ways to implement the five high-level recommendations included in Cooperative Extension’s National Framework for Health Equity and...
Blog Post
Funding to Document Successful Health Extension Innovations
Has your land grant institution implemented an innovation that has accelerated Cooperative Extension’s work to advance health and well being? If so, we want to help you tell that story of innovation and the difference it is making in your state. The Well Connected Communities Initiative, administered through National 4-H Council with the generous support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will provide seven land grant universities with $25,000 each to perform a case study of a successful...
Blog Post
NIFA Rural Health and Safety Competitive Grants
USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants ( RHSE ) program supports quality of life in rural communities across the United States by addressing the needs of rural Americans’ individual and family health and safety in the context of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences. RHSE fosters, improves, and coordinates education programs among Federal agencies, other levels of government, and institutions and private...
Blog Post
Initiating Cross-Sector Partnerships to Advance Population Health
Social determinants of health are the factors beyond individual behavior that impact the health status of individuals and communities. When these determinants disproportionately affect some groups in ways that are unjust or unfair, health inequities exist. One way to address the negative influences of these determinants is through collaborative partnerships. Community leaders like Extension professionals can initiate and develop cross-sector partnerships to collaborate with other...
Comment
Re: Initiating Cross-Sector Partnerships to Advance Population Health
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the social-environmental factors that set the context for human behaviors and behavioral disparities that impact the health and well-being of individuals and populations. When socio-environmental resources (and risks) are disproportionately distributed among groups of people in ways that are persistently unjust or unfair, health inequities exist and disparities measurable. One way for Extension (a public sector, cross-disciplinary, multi-level system)...
Blog Post
Building a Well-Being Economy: A Future Role for Cooperative Extension?
Over the past several months, I've been involved with a group examining the notion of well-being economies. Seeking a deeper understanding of the concept, I came across a 2020 article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review by Anna Chrysopoulou that posed a compelling vision for what a well-being economy might look like. "To solve the social, economic, and environmental challenges we face today, we need to rethink the status quo. Governments and other institutions around the world need to...
Comment
Re: Building a Well-Being Economy: A Future Role for Cooperative Extension?
Really enjoying the SSIR article and the idea of connecting this to extension work. Made me think of the "Health in All Policies: Working Across Sectors in Cooperative Extension to Promote Health for All" (Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, Volume 6, Number 2, 2018). https://www.jhseonline.com/article/view/718 One key idea that stands out to me - the for this to take hold it will require extension to embrace the ideas from the ground up, and the top down. because extension has such...
Comment
Re: Building a Well-Being Economy: A Future Role for Cooperative Extension?
Hi Roger, thanks for sharing this article. I whole heartedly agree. I particularly liked this statement "A well-being economy recognizes that people need to restore a harmonious relationship between society and nature, enjoy a fair distribution of resources, and live in healthy and resilient communities, and these elements are beginning to emerge in the individual policies of several countries." I do think this is a vision that Extension is well positioned to assist with. We are rooted in...
Comment
Re: Building a Well-Being Economy: A Future Role for Cooperative Extension?
Thanks for sharing this article and posting this prompt Roger. I absolutely think Cooperative Extension has a unique and critical role to play in helping our communities transition to a well-being economy. Perhaps even an obligation! In fact this is something I looked closely at over the course of my year-long Extension Foundation fellowship back in 2018. My particular focus was on how Land Grants, Extension, and libraries like my own at Cornell might help optimize local and regional food...
Blog Post
Join NEW NUEL Urban Extension Connect Extension Group
The National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL) invites you to visit the updated NUEL website -(nuel.extension.org). At this site you will find resources for Extension professionals working in and/or supporting urban communities and audiences. At the website you’ll also find information on how to further engage in NUEL through regional NUEL Networks, Action Teams, and connecting with the NUEL Steering Committee. Additionally, NUEL has launched a new Connect Extension NUEL Subgroup to connect...
Blog Post
Join NEW NUEL Urban Extension Connect Extension Group
NUEL has launched a new Connect Extension NUEL Subgroup to connect urban based Extension professionals across the country. We invite you to join this new NUEL Connect Extension Subgroup .
Blog Post
Costs for High-Speed Internet Reduced for Millions of Americans
High-speed internet service is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. But too many families go without high-speed internet because of the cost or have to cut back on other essentials to make their monthly internet service payments. Lowering prices—including the cost of high-speed internet service—is President Biden’s top priority. In early May 2021, President Biden and Vice President Harris announced that they have secured private sector commitments that will lower high-speed internet costs...
Blog Post
Chances of Dying Young Greatest in the South
A recent research brief by Nader Mehri and Jennifer Karas Montez at Syracuse University reveals that the chances of dying young differ dramatically across U.S. states. Individuals living in Minnesota, California, New York, and Massachusetts have the lowest rates of death by age 65, whereas those living in Southern states, including West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma have the highest rates of premature death. If current conditions...
Blog Post
Listening Session on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health
Nearly 100 individuals participated in a virtual listening session held recently to gather advance input into the upcoming White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to be held this September. The listening session was hosted by the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy and the Board on Human Sciences of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) with support of the Extension Foundation. The majority of the participants were state-level coordinators of...
Blog Post
The Demand for Online Physical Activity Resources Continues to Grow: How Walk Across Arkansas Impacts Both Rural and Urban Residents
Walk Across Arkansas is an 8-week online group exercise program that has been changing the lives of rural and urban participants, one step at a time. Read more to learn how this program is being implemented by the University of Arkansas System, Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service…
Blog Post
First CDC Flu Season Report
CDC's Influenza Division posted the first full FluView report of the 2022-2023 flu season. The report shows flu activity is increasing across most of the U.S. Flu activity is highest and increasing the most in the southeast and south-central parts of the country.
Blog Post
Belonging and Civic Muscle - A Vital Condition, An Extension Opportunity
When viewing the vital conditions framework, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the categories and get lost in thinking about your role in changing any one, or many of the conditions in the community. But, if we look at the conditions as an opportunity to speak to the work that we do as a system, it becomes something that feels right in the work that we do day in and day out, and maybe is the least "measured" in the people counting, and knowledge, attitudes and beliefs surveys many of us do...
Comment
Re: Belonging and Civic Muscle - A Vital Condition, An Extension Opportunity
Possible indicators for including in planning and producing narrative "stories" and outcome/impact "reports" of social and community change across vital conditions, including belonging and civic muscle, align nicely with a social justice lens. Indicators of change include access (equity & inclusion-who does/doesn't have access & why), agency (intentions and choices), advocacy (voice and skills), and solidarity actions (participates and work toward) for change. The processes of...
Blog Post
Health Framework Lightning Sessions
Hear how twelve land-grant universities across the nation are utilizing Cooperative Extension's National Framework for Health Equity and Well-Being to ensure that all people have an equal opportunity to experience lifelong health. Presenting on Tuesday, November 15 in a lightning round format (five slides in seven minutes) are the University of New Hampshire, University of Florida, The Ohio State University, Kansas State University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of...
Blog Post
Health Equity and Well Being, how do we achieve it?
Recently, I attended the Extension-related Appalachian Health Summit in Roanoke, Virginia. There, we joined many other Appalachian states in discussing determinants of health and the challenges our communities face to access and enjoy health, quality care, and well-being. In this blog, I’d like to pose a question to ourselves as Extension services about how overwhelming this quest for health equity must feel. We left the summit very excited about the possibilities and in my case, with a mind...
Blog Post
Synopsis of the First Peer Learning Lightning Round- Building Capacity to Implement the Framework for Health Equity and Well Being
What is the future role of Extension, and how does the Framework for Health Equity and Well-Being help guide Extension's work? On November 15, 2022, six presenters from LGU's across the country shared how their institutions are building capacity to implement the recommendations contained in the Framework. Topics included multi-disciplinary collaboration, the need for clear and relevant data, and aligning Extension work with existing health initiatives at the state and national level.
Blog Post
Free Seminar on Social Justice and Health Equity
Bradford Hill Seminar – Social justice and health equity – Professor Sir Michael Marmot February 15 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm (UK time) All are invited to the hybrid Bradford Hill Seminar: Social justice and health equity Professor Sir Michael Marmot Institute of Health Equity and UCL Department of Epidemiology & Public Health Register to attend Please note this will be a hybrid seminar, with the option to attend in-person (East Forvie Building, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 0SR) or...
Blog Post
Summary of December Lightning Presentations
On December 15, six land-grant universities shared information about current work happening at their respective institutions to advance health equity and well-being. Summaries of these presentations are found below. University of Missouri - Chiquita Chanay and Lisa Washburn shared information about how University of Missouri Extension is engaging various units across campus to address the health challenges of Missourians. Their Project ECHO replication is a peer-learning, knowledge network...
Blog Post
RWJF Culture of Health Prize - Apply Now
I wanted to let you know that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) just shared its 2023 RWJF Culture of Health Prize call for applications. I’m sharing this with you in hopes that you will encourage community applications from your network. In the 10 years since it launched, the RWJF Culture of Health Prize has celebrated more than 50 communities across the country that are at the forefront of advancing health, opportunity, and equity for all. This year, RWJF is relaunching the Prize...
Blog Post
Cooperative Extension: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
In my role as a Well-Being and Equity Project Manager, I am working to co-create a process for youth and adults to promote equitable development in their community by partnering with Cooperative Extension. I’d like to take a moment to ponder some of the ways Cooperative Extension currently shows up in this movement for societal progress. It is time we deeply question the ways we promote and discourage equitable development in our work, for perpetuating the status quo hurts communities and...