Finding Statistics and Data Related to Rural Health Overview

"This guide will help you locate and fairly and accurately use statistics and data in order to:

• Understand rural health needs and rural/urban disparities,
• Communicate rural health needs, and
• Inform decision-making related to service delivery and policy

For a comprehensive look at major rural-relevant statistical sources, please also see RHIhub's Data Sources & Tools Relevant to Rural Health."

Rural Behavioral Health Workforce
"From 2014 to 2021, both rural and urban areas experienced increases in the supply of social workers, including clinical social workers and school social workers"

Rural Data Sources
"This page provides a listing of the major rural data sources used to analyze rural economic and demographic conditions in the United States."

Rural Health | Washington State Department of Health
"The Washington State Office of Rural Health and Primary Care Office support health systems planning and development in Washington's rural and underserved.'

All Programs | Rural Development.Gov

"USDA Rural Development invests in rural America with loan, grant, and loan guarantee programs because we understand a strong community is rooted in its people. The commitment and resources we bring to rural communities helps drive economic security and prosperity."

Rural Community Programs | HRSA.Gov
Rural communities face unique health care challenges. Our community-based grant programs address these and increase access to care.

Human Services to Support Rural Health Overview
"Human services play an important role in ensuring that rural residents and families have resources to maintain or improve their own health. The availability of safe and affordable housing, income supports, food assistance, job training, childcare support, and other services help low-income rural residents take care of themselves so they can stay healthy. When faced with health challenges, people whose basic needs are met are better able to concentrate on recovery and take steps to avoid future problems. Some rural hospitals even employ their own social services staff, in an effort to provide patients with needed services that may help them avoid readmission."

Rural Social Work – What is It and Why is it Unique?
"Rural community identity through geography – compare this with the multiplicity of urban “communities” ▪ Shared knowledge and networking – gossip, “placing” and mutual aid"

The Unique Challenges Faced by Social Workers in Rural Communities
"Not every social worker’s day-to-day workload looks the same. From working with policymakers to individual families, there are countless career paths a degree in social work can take them. While each environment has its own benefits and drawbacks, the challenges faced by social workers in rural communities can have a significant impact on how they work."

Forum: Rural Social Work Practice

Management of dual relationships and confidentiality in social work practice is an essential ethical task for all professionals. Practitioners face special challenges presented by the choice of practice environment and the differential client and community expectations that may be inherent in rural practice

National Rural Social Work Caucus
The Rural Social Work Caucus is an informal organization; members often say it is an organization that operates by rumor as opposed to
structure, established as a “loose” membership body at the First National Institute on Social Work in Rural Areas hosted by the
University of Tennessee in 1976. The caucus has operated since that time basically as a “commons” with a set of voluntary leaders that work to
keep a voice for social work practice with rural places active within the social work profession. 

Is there a shortage of rural social workers?
"More than 60 percent of rural Americans live in areas where there is a shortage of mental health professionals."

Center for Rural Social Work Research and Development
"Established in 2010, the Center for Rural Social Work Research and Development focuses on building strong communities through rural and urban connections and partnerships. It has received funding from many different organizations, including the T.L.L. Temple Foundation, Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Health Resources and Services Administration."

The Rural Social Worker
Our goal is to help people who live in rural communities navigate the mental health system more easily. We offer personalized clinical supervision, EMDR consultation, business coaching, and an accessible podcast for providers and the community.

A Conceptual Model for Rural Social Work
"As long as social workers have considered rural social work unique from other fields of practice there has been a search to capture the essence of rural social work. Is it a rural-urban dichotomy, is it geographically or community bound, and what are the principles that guide rural practice? Answers to these questions are important to education for future social workers and rural practice. The author examines key issues in rural social work and their influence on rural social work."

Ethics & Boundaries: Implications for Rural Practice
 Social workers are continually aware of the profession's mission, values, ethical principles, and ethical standards and practice in a manner.

Rural Social Work
 

Rural environment, how services may be delivered, practice theories, advantages and challenges, improving rural social work, generalist practice approach

This page has three sections:

1. Background Material that provides the context for the topic

2. A suggested Practice Approach

3. A list of Supporting Material / References"

Rural Social Work: Addressing Social Problems in Rural Areas
"The rural and urban divide has steadily received more attention over the past decade. Conversations on different values, lifestyles, and even different voting habits have taken up space in new cycles. Perhaps some of the more startling differences, though, appear in the impacts of social issues."

Rural Social Work and Social Perspectives of Sustainability
The key question of this Special Issue is how rural social work can be re-configured to enable rural people’s problem solving, aimed at enhancing sustainable development. It is important to highlight what is working well, who are the key players, and what are the challenges and insights. Amidst social workers’ limited reach, rural inhabitants display resilience in fashioning out innovative ways of delivering services, resolving pressing needs and problems by themselves through indigenous/local approaches.

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal
Contemporary Rural Social Work is the only US journal devoted to rural social work practice and education for rural social work practice.
 

University of Manitoba OER
Social Work

Social Workers’ Evidence-Based Practice Use and Challenges in Rural Environments: A Systematic Review
Over the past decade, the demand for Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in the social work field has increased. Previous studies indicate that EBP promotes clinical decision making based on current best evidence and decreases the use of ineffective interventions. 

Implementing Evidence-Based Practices in Rural Areas
"Successfully making a change within an organization, such as the delivery of a new evidencebased practice (EBP), is challenging. Over the past decade, there has been an increased focus on how to best implement change in social service and behavioral health systems. However, much of the research has been done in urban areas, leading to a deficit in what is known about the unique implementation challenges in rural communities and how to best address them. This brief summarizes what is known about the implementation needs of rural areas and provides some strategies to address them and increase the likelihood of successful and sustained changes."

Uncovering the Strengths, Challenges, and Future of Rural Social Work Podcast
Effective rural social work requires adapting and modifying traditional social work practice models to fit the community's unique needs. This podcast explores rural social work and the strengths, challenges, and future of rural social work practice. This is part of the Continued Learning Podcast series.

Rural Social Worker
Closing The Gaps Despite The Distance Podcast