Over the past decade, the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee") has examined a number of rural issues that touch upon the social determinants of health. The Committee's past work has focused on understanding how conditions and outcomes such as homelessness, childhood…

While many adolescents and young adults experiment with substances (e.g., alcohol, cigarette smoking, marijuana), recent research suggests that rural youth and young adults may be more at risk for substance use than their urban counterparts. This study was designed to examine the longitudinal relationships between rural adolescents' prosocial…

Background: The disparity in rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV/AIDS, and unplanned pregnancy between Alaska Native (AN) and non-AN populations, particularly among young adults and females, is significant and concerning. Focus groups were conducted to better understand the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of rural Alaska youth…

Many adolescents, both rural and urban, are not meeting the recommended levels for physical activity (PA). This investigation was designed to elicit socioecologic barriers and facilitators for PA in rural and urban middle school youth and their parents. Thirteen focus groups were conducted with 41 youth and 50 parents from eastern North Carolina.…

To investigate the association between theoretically grounded psychosocial motivators and the sun safety practice intentions of rural youth. Method: A survey was given to 219 members of FFA (Future Farmers of America) at high schools in the rural Midwest (average age = 16). Results: Perceived self-efficacy, peer norms, response efficacy, and…

Purpose: Chances for a healthy life are not equally distributed across society. Instead, genetic, social, and environmental factors help determine the probability that a child will be healthy and active. We investigate the probability that youth will be physically active by examining 3 consistent correlates of physical activity. The individual and…

Background: Research suggests significant health differences between rural dwelling youth and their urban counterparts with relation to cardiovascular risk factors. This study was conducted to (1) determine relationships between physical activity and markers of metabolic syndrome, and (2) to explore factors relating to physical activity in a…