Monday, October 3^rd was Child Health Day 2022, an observance and recommitment to the health and well-being of children and their families.  HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) released the annual National Survey of Children’s Health, the largest national- and state-level dataset on children’s health, producing key measures meant to inform research, policymaking, and public health efforts at every level of government.  MCHB funds and directs the survey, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, to learn more about child well-being on a range of topics including physical & mental health, special health care needs, and adverse childhood experiences.  There’s also a wide range of information on socio-demographics such as race/ethnicity, poverty, insurance status, and geographic location.  Recently, we reported on new research that used earlier NSCH data to discover that, though rural children face higher rates of adverse childhood experiences, they’re also more likely to report positive childhood experiences.  New information in the 2021 dataset includes various effects of COVID-19, nutrition habits for preschoolers, and a look at whether or not children face discrimination based on a disability or health condition. MCHB also provides a 2021 NSCH data brief: Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Researchers analyzed data on the training and placement of 12,162 clinically active physicians who completed an accredited family medicine residency between 2008 and 2012. They found that more than 90 percent of residents had no rural training during that time and only 14 percent practiced in a rural location by 2018.  But the data showed that rural exposure during family medicine residency training is associated with a 5- to 6-fold increase in subsequent rural practice.

This Health Affairs article from the FORHP-funded Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Technical Assistance Program discusses approaches rural hospitals may take to address health workforce challenges as they consider converting to the new Rural Emergency Hospital designation. The RRPD-TA program supports graduate medical education (GME) in rural areas and provides resources to RRPD award recipients and other organizations interested in learning more about rural residency program development and GME.

The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) made this declaration for Florida, South Carolina, and Puerto Rico after determining that the devastation of Hurricane Iain required an urgent response from the federal government.  Recent public health emergencies include COVID-19, Monkeypox, and the opioid epidemic; naming an event as such allows agencies within HHS to bypass the typically lengthy process to make grants, enter into contracts, and rapidly investigate the cause, treatment, or prevention of a disease or disorder. For natural disasters, this means putting personnel from the National Disaster Medical System on the ground in affected areas and collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and regional coordinators of HHS’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, also known as ASPR.  The Rural Health Information Hub has a wealth of information on the challenges specific to rural areas and links to resources for disaster preparedness and response.

The federal resource telehealth.hhs.gov outlines how to build a school telehealth program and prepare students and guardians for attending telehealth appointments.  The guide is also available in Spanish.

This policy brief from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center presents findings from interviews with national LGBTQ+ support organizations regarding challenges to physical and mental health and well-being for LGBTQ+ individuals in rural communities, as well as considerations for improving the ability to meet the needs of LGBTQ+ individuals living in rural areas.