Among key findings in this brief from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center:

• Nearly 30 percent of rural and urban older adults reported experiencing at least one of the selected risk factors (injury, food insecurity, or lack of social and emotional support).
• Of the three risk factors, lack of social and emotional support was the most common, reported by over 18 percent of older adults from both rural and urban areas.
• Injury was the second-most reported risk factor and was more commonly reported by rural than urban older adults.
• Food insecurity was experienced by a slightly higher percentage of rural older adults than those in urban areas.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released a final recommendation statement on interventions to prevent falls in community-dwelling older adults. The Task Force found that exercise can help prevent falls in adults 65 and older who are at increased risk. Additional interventions might be helpful for some older adults. To view the recommendation, the evidence on which it is based, and a summary for clinicians, please go here.

The state tobacco-related disparities dashboard, available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, is an intuitive visualization platform. Use it to quickly explore cigarette smoking prevalence and related disparities in states by numerous factors. It can help you identify opportunities for improvement and action with your health center patients.

A feature article in The Rural Monitor features the Feasible, Actionable, Impactful and Relevant (FAIR) EMS Measurement Project, an initiative by the Florida Department of Health which developed rural-relevant EMS quality measures for use in the state and nationally.

A study published by the Journal of Rural Health assesses how training in rural communities relates to confidence in skills important in their work settings, successes in jobs and communities, and anticipated retention.  Here, a summary of the study is provided by 3RNET, a national nonprofit that helps rural practices expand their reach for posting job vacancies.

This infographic from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provides a snapshot of demographics, health outcomes, risk factors, access and utilization, and disparities among Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries seeking pregnancy-related care and those with a recent live birth. It shows the states with the highest percentage of Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries ages 15-49 living in rural areas as well as the number of general obstetrics and gynecology physicians and advanced practice midwives per 100,000 women ages 15–49. This data analysis informed the Medicaid and CHIP Maternal and Infant Health Initiative Summer 2024 Webinar Series, occurring every Tuesday at 2:00 pm Eastern, and the CMS Affinity Groups scheduled for this fall on maternal mental health and substance use and maternal hypertension and cardiovascular health.

Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) welcomes submissions for its upcoming collection, Rural Health Disparities: Contemporary Solutions for Persistent Rural Public Health Challenges.

Public health challenges have been documented in rural geographical areas and remain persistent public health, medicine, and health services problems. These challenges include limited health care access, excessive tobacco use in poor counties, limited physical activities, socioeconomic inequities, behavioral and mental health conditions, and major chronic diseases. These persistent rural health challenges magnify and lead to racial and socioeconomic disparities.

The goal of this collection is to capture current solutions to these challenges. Peer-reviewed articles in this collection will help advance the discourse on rural public health beyond biomedical models for chronic disease prevention. For this collection, PCD encourages the submission of manuscripts covering diverse topics using various article types. We encourage authors to explore the social determinants of health, environmental influences, policy interventions, and community-based initiatives contributing to chronic disease prevention in rural areas.

PCD is a peer-reviewed public health journal published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and authored by experts worldwide. Visit the PCD website for more information about the journal, submission guidelines, and deadlines for this upcoming collection.

Key Dates: Accepted manuscripts will be published on a rolling basis. Please submit an inquiry to the Editor in Chief at PCDeditor@cdc.gov by July 19, 2024. All manuscripts intended for this collection are due by January 24, 2025. The collection will include published manuscripts along with a guest editorial, set to be published in Summer 2025.