- Study: Rural Residents More Likely to Struggle With Medical Debt
- In Rural Avery County, Helene Washed Away One of the Only Dental Clinics
- VA Proposes to Eliminate Copays for Telehealth, Expand Access to Telehealth for Rural Veterans
- Deaths From Cardiovascular Disease Increased Among Younger U.S Adults in Rural Areas
- Rural Veterans Are Struggling with Access to VA-Provided Care
- Community Health Workers Spread Across the US, Even in Rural Areas
- Idaho Gained Nurses. But Not Enough To Deal with Retirements and Population Boom.
- CMS Announces New Policies to Reduce Maternal Mortality, Increase Access to Care, and Advance Health Equity
- USDA Partners With White House, National Rural Water Association to Strengthen Cybersecurity for Rural Water Systems
- On-Call Maternity Care in Rural Arizona Boosted by AHCCCS Funding
- Ask an Expert: Solutions to Social Isolation in Rural Communities
- Share Your Rural Health Story in Honor of National Rural Health Day
- On Navajo Nation, a Push to Electrify More Homes on the Vast Reservation
- Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Visits North Carolina to Highlight Federal Resources Available to Help Farmers, Families and Communities Recover from Hurricane Helene
- NRHA Releases 2024 Compendium of Best Practices for Rural Age-Friendly Care
Penn study: Counties that lost auto plants suffered spike in opioid overdoses
A new study by Penn has found that the opioid epidemic and opioid overdoses are more prevalent in counties across the US that lost auto plants and subsequent economic instability. Read more here.
APHA Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge
The American Public Health Association (APHA) has a new Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge, perfectly aligning with the Pennsylvania Public Health Association’s (PPHA) January theme of Healthy Communities. APHA, in partnership with the Aetna Foundation — a private foundation affiliated with CVS Health — and National Association of Counties, will provide $100,000 in funding and nonfinancial support to selected communities to address access to foods that support healthy eating patterns and access to health services through systems-level approaches and resident engagement over a two-year period.
The Challenge invites applications from cities, counties and federally recognized tribes with a population of up to 600,000 in California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia that are prepared to work across silos in order to advance health equity and prevent chronic diseases.
For relevant articles and updates, follow along on Twitter.
Pennsylvania State Data Center Call for Presentations
The Pennsylvania State Data Center (PaSDC) is seeking presenters for the 2020 Pennsylvania Data User Conference. This year’s event will be held on May 14, 2020, at Penn State Harrisburg. The annual Data User Conference serves as Pennsylvania’s most comprehensive single-day forum for research and developments in demographic data.
The PaSDC Data User Conference seeks to educate its audience on the demographic and socioeconomic research and policies affecting Pennsylvania. Past presentations have focused on research themes (e.g. aging, prison populations, labor force, and rural Pennsylvania); community development (e.g. case studies and community planning); innovations in technology (e.g. database and data visualization software), and other data-related topics.
Sessions at the Conference are non-commercial and vendor-neutral. Under no circumstance should a session be a direct promotion of an organization’s product, service, or monetary self-interest. The emphasis should be on the application of the demographic/socioeconomic data, technology, and other data-related topics.
Submission Details – Team, individual, or panel proposals, which include the proposed topic and a brief description or outline, should be e-mailed to Jennifer Shultz (jjb131@psu.edu) by Wednesday, February 26, 2020. All selected presentations will be published in conference publications and on the conference website. The PaSDC will notify all selected speakers by March 4, 2020.
Presentation Rules:
Presentation proposals will be reviewed by the conference planning committee and selections will be made based upon desired topics, flow of content, educational value, and understanding of the content. All selected content will be published in Conference publications and online.
Agenda Schedule – The conference organizers will set the day and time for each presentation, in order to optimize the sequencing and flow of content and tracks. Sessions will end by 4:00 pm on Conference Day.
Speaker Benefits:
The PaSDC does not pay fees or travel expenses to its speakers. All speakers will receive a complimentary Conference registration including meals. Speakers will be featured in the Conference publication and on the Conference website. The above benefits speaker(s); not support staff or colleagues who may accompany the speaker(s).
The PaSDC reserves the right to decline a submission for presentation at the 2020 Pennsylvania Data User Conference.
American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-Year Estimates Available
The U.S. Census Bureau released new 5-year estimates from the 2014-2018 American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS is the largest source of small area statistics for social, economic, housing and demographic characteristics. The 2014-2018 ACS five-year estimates are available on data.census.gov, the new platform to access data and digital content from the Census Bureau (full story).
2019 Population Estimates Show the Nation’s Growth Is Slowing
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s national and state population estimates, forty-two states and the District of Columbia had fewer births in 2019 than 2018, while eight states saw a birth increase. With fewer births in recent years and the number of deaths increasing, natural increase (or births minus deaths) has declined steadily over the past decade (full story).
Census Bureau Releases New Content in 59 Languages
The U.S. Census Bureau launched an update to 2020census.gov that includes content in 59 languages, including language assistance guides and videos that explain how to complete the 2020 Census questionnaire online, by phone or by mail when it becomes available in mid-March. People can respond to the census online and by phone in 13 languages. The expansive site includes in-depth information in both English and Spanish (full story).
Listen: The Hidden Cost Of Health Systems Gobbling Up Rural Hospitals
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal appeared on the WAMU radio program “1A” to discuss the issue of community hospitals merging with larger, corporate systems and what that means for communities around the country. Rosenthal is the author of “An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back.” Click here to listen.
New brief highlights historic population trends for Commonwealth and its regions
In anticipation of the 2020 decennial census, we look back at trends in Pennsylvania’s population. Our latest brief tracks population change from the start of the 20th century to the most recent decennial census data for 2010.
The brief shows that Pennsylvania’s population, while still growing, is growing at a much slower rate than it was at the start of the 20th century. The regional analysis shows that South Central Pennsylvania has been the fastest-growing region since mid-century and the only region to have maintained population growth each decade since 1900.
Click here to read the full brief.
RWJF Leadership for Better Health Programs
In an effort to extend the influence and impact of leaders working to build a Culture of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has launched a call for applications for its national leadership programs. As an organization committed to improving health and the performance of the health system, AcademyHealth is proud to serve as a subcontractor on two of these leadership programs:
- Health Policy Research Scholars: This is a four-year national leadership development program to train full-time doctoral students from non-clinical, academic disciplines with a policy focus who build a culture of health in their disciplines and communities.
- Interdisciplinary Research Leaders: This program supports and expands action-oriented and community-engaged research to create healthier communities. Its goal is to produce diverse, interdisciplinary leaders who conduct and apply equity-focused health research in order to drive improvements in the health of communities and help advance a Culture of Health.
Application Deadline: Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Learn more here.
New Diabetes Resources from CMS
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released new resources for healthcare providers and patient advocates to help overcome the challenges diabetes treatment can present. The Diabetes Medication Management: Directory of Provider Resources will facilitate diabetes treatment for primary care teams, especially those working with Medicare and vulnerable populations who experience a higher prevalence of Type 2 diabetes and its complications. And last, but not least, CMS released A Culturally and Linguistically Tailored Type 2 Diabetes Resources Inventory that features a catalog of diabetes prevention resources tailored to racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ communities, people with disabilities, and people with limited English proficiency.