Notes From the Field: Collaborative partnerships for rural health improvement
As part of our Notes from the Field series, we spoke with Cheyanna Frost, Manager of Workforce Development with the Cornell Health Impacts Core (CHIC), about her work that focuses on collaborative partnerships for rural health improvement.
Rural America
Some 97% of the U.S. land mass is classified as rural. Communities and resources in these areas are often geographically distanced, which can influence how residents access essential services. Rural communities have fewer health care services, and residents have lower rates of health insurance and health care access. Furthermore, compared to those living in urban centers, rural residents experience higher rates of chronic diseases and risk factors. However, despite having smaller and under-resourced public health departments, many people and organizations play an important role in supporting and improving the health and wellbeing of communities. Collaborative partnerships are key.
CHIC and Rural Health
CHIC is actively involved in supporting rural health, in part by helping to expand the capacity of people and teams working to support rural public health. CHIC has a number of tools and trainings that assist rural communities in their public health work, including the Rural Risk Management Training, the Rural Mental Health Training, and the Reframing Health Disparities Communications toolkits. Wrapping around these is a long-standing project that is led by Cheyanna, focused on collaborations with cooperative extension staff. Cooperative extension offices across the U.S. have the role of connecting university research with local communities, delivering science-based, locally relevant programs through a national network of educators and researchers. While much extension work focuses on addressing determinants of health, many extension staff do not fully appreciate their role in supporting or advancing community public health. This was something CHIC wanted to help address.
Working first in New York State, CHIC partnered with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) in three rural counties to pilot an approach. CCE staff were invited to leverage their trusted community relationships to build interdisciplinary teams interested in building their public health skills. Learning teams completed Public Health Essentials (PHE), a capacity-building intervention that builds foundational public health knowledge and skills in areas such as data interpretation, health communication, and engaged practices to improve community health and prevent disease. As a part of PHE, teams were encouraged to explore and understand pressing community needs, to explore strategic opportunities to augment public health, and to co-develop a plan for action. After completing PHE, teams continued to meet on a monthly basis, and the full cohort met on a quarterly basis, providing peer-to-peer support and mentoring.
What benefits are emerging from CHIC’s work, particularly at the county level?
This approach saw great success, strengthening participants’ ability to integrate public health strategies and frameworks into the work they were already doing. Furthermore, teams expanded their collaborative approaches to design and implement community-based public health projects, reaching hundreds of community members. These promising outcomes allowed the project to expand. In addition to supporting capacity expansion of 141 extension staff across 32 states, CHIC now supports active partnerships with nine CCEs in rural counties in NY, supported by a peer-to-peer mentorship model. These teams are supporting seven active community projects focused on improving food security, physical activity, and cardiometabolic health in rural NY.
“One of my favorite outcomes is seeing participants experience a shift in perspective—recognizing that the work they have been doing is public health,” says Cheyanna Frost. Cheyanna also observes a number of benefits emerging from this work, including the development of strong networks and strengthening community engagement with public health. At a county level, this has led to deeper engagement, stronger community support, and increased connections to local resources.
Looking forward
Supporting public health in rural communities is a priority for CHIC, and the work with cooperative extension offices has been inspiring. By collaborating with key community implementers like CCE, CHIC can be a better partner in helping to explore and address priority public health needs.
Interested in learning more?