Home to one in five Americans, the rural United States encompasses many racially diverse locales that make essential contributions to our economy, our culture, and our rich history. While rural places have social strengths that aren’t always found in urban environments, long-standing structural discrimination has caused inequities in access to resources and health care, resulting in complex and nuanced public health challenges.
Solutions to improve life in rural places often fail to address the deep-rooted and unjust laws, policies, and practices that have shaped the physical, economic, and social conditions of rural populations over many generations. And because each community is uniquely diverse in its context and strengths, policy solutions need to be tailored to the lived experiences of people in those diverse communities.
ChangeLab Solutions has a long track record of serving rural communities that dates back to our inception as a public health nonprofit working in tobacco prevention. Today, we work at local, state, and national levels, partnering on rural projects ranging from Black maternal health care to policy scans and model policies that advance community health, racial equity, and equitable economic development.
Read our new story to find out about our current projects to improve rural health equity.
12/13/2022