Context: With limited resources and increased public health challenges facing the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others have identified partnerships between local health departments (LHDs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as critical to the public health system. LHDs utilize financial, human, and informational…

Context: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health problem that affects people across the entire social spectrum. However, no previous population-based public health studies have examined the prevalence of IPV in rural areas of the United States. Research on IPV in rural areas is especially important given that there are relatively fewer…

Context: Rural women in the United States experience disparity in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment when compared to their urban counterparts. Given the 11% chance of lifetime occurrence of breast cancer for women overall, the continuum of breast cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery are of legitimate concern to rural women and…

Context: Appalachia has been characterized by its poverty, a factor associated with tuberculosis, yet little is known about the disease in this region. Purpose: To determine whether Appalachian tuberculosis risk factors, trends, and rates differ from the rest of the United States. Methods: Analysis of tuberculosis cases reported to the Centers for…

Context: Alcohol consumption is a major public health problem nationally, but little research has investigated drinking patterns by rurality of residence. Purpose: To describe the prevalence of abstinence, alcohol use disorders, and risky drinking in rural, suburban, and urban areas of the United States. Methods: Analyses of the 2001-2002 National…

Context: Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, yet screening rates are well below target levels. Rural communities may face common and unique barriers to health care, particularly preventive health care. Purpose: To establish baseline attitudinal, knowledge, belief, and behavior measures on colorectal…

Migration to the United States from Mexico is increasing every year. Mexican immigrants tend to be poor, uninsured, monolingual Spanish speakers without adequate access to appropriate medical care. As a further barrier, many are also undocumented. This article describes a program developed to improve access to health care among Mexican immigrants…