The purpose of the project is to create a companion document to Healthy People 2010, with the focus on addressing rural health priorities. This project identified and examined approximately one dozen high priority objectives for rural health as a subset of the hundreds of objectives defined within Healthy People 2010 including, Access to Quality Health Services (Insurance, Primary Care, and EMS); Cancer; Diabetes; Heart Disease and Stroke; Maternal, Infant, and Child Health; Mental Health and Mental Disorders; Nutrition and Overweight Concerns; Oral Health; Substance Abuse; and Tobacco Use.

Results of surveys of national, state, and local rural agencies and provider organizations, along with other criteria, were used in the identification of rural health priorities. Surveys and other contacts helped to identify state and community initiatives targeting rural areas that are considered models for practice for the selected priority objectives. Research and practice literatures associated with each of the selected objectives were investigated by the project research teams and summarized along with associated models for practice.

View the models for practice and literature reviews on the Rural Healthy People 2010 webpage.

Publications

• Rural Healthy People 2010: A Companion Document to Healthy People 2010. Volume 1
  Southwest Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 2003
  This report offers brief overviews of the top rural health concerns and objectives associated with Healthy People 2010 focus areas. Also included are references to key literature about these concerns and descriptions of models for practice that rural communities can draw upon to achieve key Healthy People 2010 objectives.
• Rural Healthy People 2010: A Companion Document to Healthy People 2010. Volume 2
  Southwest Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 2003
  This report detailed literature reviews and associated references for the top rural health concerns addressed in Vol. 1 of Rural Healthy People 2010.