JOHNSON CITY (Sept. 7, 2020) – Experts from East Tennessee State University’s College of Public Health are featured prominently throughout the September issue of the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), a publication of the American Public Health Association.
The theme of the special section is “A Public Health Lens on Rural Health,” and ETSU College of Public Health faculty authored four of the articles in this issue.
“I am honored that ETSU and the Center for Rural Health Research are so prominently featured in the premier public health journal in the United States,” said Dr. Randy Wykoff, dean of the College of Public Health. “It reflects the growing national reputation of the university for excellence in health care, public health and rural health.”
In August, ETSU’s College of Public Health received one of seven Rural Health Research Center grants, awarded by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, to create the Center for Substance Misuse in Rural America. This builds upon the work of ETSU’s Center for Rural Health Research and Addiction Science Center, both housed in the College of Public Health.
The AJPH special section includes an editorial titled “The Intergenerational Cycles of Rural Health” by Wykoff. In the editorial, Wykoff highlights the mission and the work of the Center for Rural Health Research at ETSU and underscores important messages about the challenges facing rural America, including the intergenerational cycles of poverty, educational underachievement, poor health behaviors and lack of access to health care that is widening the gap between rural America and the rest of the country.
An article titled “Leveraging Rural Strengths to Overcome Population Health Challenges,” co-authored by Michael Meit, director of research and programs at the ETSU Center for Rural Health Research, and Dr. Alana Knudson, director of the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, highlights the importance of creating a better balance in the narrative about the rural United States, while still providing new perspectives on rural disparities.
Meit also co-authored an article titled “The State of Rural Public Health: Enduring Needs in a New Decade.” This article explores the growth in urban-rural disparities and provides five population-based “prescriptions” for supporting rural public health in the U.S. The other authors included Dr. Jonathon P. Leider, University of Minnesota; Dr. J. Mac McCullough, Arizona State University; Dr. Beth Resnick, Y. Natalia Alfonso and Dr. David Bishai, all of Johns Hopkins; and Debra Dekker, National Association of County and City Health Officials.
An article titled “Funding and Service Delivery in Rural and Urban Local US Health Departments in 2010 and 2016” is the work of three ETSU College of Public Health faculty – Dr. Kate Beatty, Dr. Nathan Hale and Meit – along with Megan Heffernan of NORC at the University of Chicago. Their article compares differences in proportions of funding sources for rural and urban local health agencies over time to inform policymakers on the effects of budget cuts and the importance of secure and stable funding for local health departments.
Click here to view the September issue of AJPH.
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About the ETSU Center for Rural Health Research:
The Center for Rural Health Research at East Tennessee State University’s College of Public Health works in partnership with regional, statewide and national organizations and with experts at Ballad Health and across ETSU to identify and study innovations to improve health and enhance the quality of life of people living in rural and economically depressed communities across Tennessee, Central Appalachia and around the country.