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...

The National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care at Tuskegee University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Minority Health and Health Equity invite you to the 2020 Public Health Ethics Forum on September 11, 2020, from 1 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET via Zoom. This year’s theme is Ethical Dilemmas in Rural Health. The goal of the 2020 Public Health Ethics Forum is to examine ethical considerations relating to place-based public health approaches in rural areas...

The U.S. adult obesity rate tops 40 percent; highest ever recorded. COVID-19 related food insecurity puts more Americans at risk for obesity or worsening obesity. Demographic trends and the conditions in people’s lives have a large impact on their ability to maintain a healthy weight. Policy solutions include expanded access to nutrition support programs and creating more opportunities for people to be physically active. Read the State of Obesity 2020: Better Policies for a Healthier America

The month of November is American Diabetes Month. Like most national health observances, this month is meant to promote awareness of and increase support for reducing the burden associated with this chronic condition. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released the 2020 National Diabetes Statistics Report which is a periodic publication that provides estimates of diabetes and prediabetes, information on risk factors and associated complications, and describes the...

An article by published yesterday in STAT online included alarming information about the prevalence of COVID-19 in rural communities. "As the U.S. heads toward a third peak in the pandemic, rural counties are among the areas most severely affected by Covid-19. While their absolute numbers of cases are still relatively small compared with large cities, case rates and death rates are growing fastest in rural counties . This is especially worrisome because characteristics associated with poor...

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...

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...

Deep-rooted structural racism, and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic, have exacerbated inequities within our food system. Millions more people—mostly Black and Latino families—have gone hungry in the past year while high obesity rates put many at risk for severe COVID-19 complications. Grocery store clerks, meat packing plant staff, and farm workers making low wages have struggled financially while risking their health to feed our country. We need a more sustainable and resilient food...

The Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging, in partnership with CSU Extension and Senior Access Points of Larimer County , will hold its eighth webinar in the COVID-19 Expert Panel Series on Thursday, March 18 at 12 p.m. MT via Zoom. Members of the Colorado State University community and the public are invited to attend. As the coronavirus pandemic evolves, the abundance of news reporting and public health recommendations can be overwhelming. The COVID-19 Expert Panel Series was...

You may be interested in this report examining the impact of COVID-19 in rural America, presenting data on case rates and mortality, prevalence in diverse rural communities, and health conditions contributing to severe cases of COVID-19. The report includes a discussion of issues of socioeconomic vulnerability, healthcare access, and public health compliance and offers actions to address disparities, including increasing access, supporting livelihoods, and considering social determinants of...

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...

A national survey of rural development stakeholders identified health as a priority recovery and growth in rural America. Investing in Rural Recovery: Findings from a Rapid Assessment of Stakeholder Priorities for Rural Development summarizes the results of a national survey conducted in the fall of 2021 by the nation's four Regional Rural Development Centers. The survey is part of a year-long Listening Session Initiative aimed at identifying key priorities and critical investments for rural...

The Tamarack Institute is pleased to announce the release of their new guide for building sustainable and and resilient coalitions. Sustainability involves many factors, including leadership, funding, community engagement, and the ability to influence policy and systems that lead to program or collective impact. Resilience is about building a collaboration’s capacity to shift, adapt, and change, and is also focused on the overall health and well-being of the collaboration and the community.

Here is a new set of resources from ChangeLab Solutions that you may find useful. "In rural communities across the United States, increasing meaningful participation in the policymaking process for Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) while decreasing place, race, and class divides is essential to achieving prosperity. Adding to our suite of resources for increasing racial justice and equitable economic development in rural America, we have released two new publications for...

The Journal of Human Sciences and Extension is soliciting articles for a summer 2025 special issue: Aging in America. The aim of this special issue is to provide human scientists and Extension professionals with research, new or emerging initiatives, creative critical thinking, and innovative practices that will propel aging-related work within a next-generation Cooperative Extension System. Format-free manuscripts are welcome.

From our friends at the CDC Office of Rural Health! We want to make you aware of a new four-part documentary series that was made possible by Bloomberg Philanthropies and is available for streaming on PBS.org and the PBS App. This series, The Invisible Shield , includes discussions on many important topics, including public health infrastructure, public health data, health equity, and more. The fourth episode in the series may be of particular interest to you, as it explores the societal...

Reminder! Brief, 250 word abstracts are due April 5th for the Journal of Human Science and Extension's Special Issue: Aging in America.

A recently released report in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) shows the gap in preventable premature mortality (or early death) between rural and urban America is growing wider. People living in rural areas are at a higher risk of dying early from one of the five leading causes of death when the death could have been prevented compared to people living in urban areas. This report is an extension of the 2019 CDC study, which showed the percentage of preventable early deaths...

The North Central Region Aging Network is requesting ALL Extension educators, specialists, and administrators complete a short survey. Twenty participants will win a $50 gift card!

From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation No matter where we live in the world, we all want a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right. We all want to live in a community where our loved ones have access to healthy foods, inviting green spaces, and safe affordable housing. A community where we engage, support, and maintain the health of our caregivers and grandparents. Many of the inequities that prevent communities in the United States from fulfilling these dreams are also...

The U.S. Surgeon General has declared firearm violence to be a public health crisis through an advisory issued yesterday. A Surgeon General’s Advisory is a public statement that calls the American people’s attention to an urgent public health issue. Advisories are reserved for significant public health challenges that require the nation’s immediate awareness and action. According to the report "this Advisory describes the public health crisis of firearm violence in America and describes...