Digital Commons Network^™

Operation Change Comes To Rural Appalachia, Keisha Hudson, Frances J. Feltner, Beth Bowling, Rose Gonzalez

Center of Excellence in Rural Health Presentations

Operation Change Model

Target Population: Underserved females age 45 and older who are experiencing obesity, joint pain, and limited mobility

An 18-week community-based behavioral health program that integrates:

• structured physical activity
• culturally tailored education
• motivational interviewer-led discussions to identify and address barriers to positive change

Appalachian Research Day: Come Sit On The Porch [2019], Frances J. Feltner, Melissa Slone, Beth Bowling

Center of Excellence in Rural Health Presentations

Rural Appalachian communities in eastern Kentucky suffer from some of the Nation’s most concerning health disparities. Community-based research can be an effective way to address health disparities by identifying problems and sharing workable solutions. However, challenges exist in recruiting and retaining research participants in rural populations that can often be difficult to reach. Partnerships between researchers and communities are essential to the success of the research process, particularly translation of findings back into the community.

Staying Out: Reentry Protective Factors Among Rural Women Offenders, Michele Staton, Megan F. Dickson, Martha Tillson, J. Matthew Webster, Carl G. Leukefeld

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

The current study examines protective factors for women who transition from county jails to rural Appalachian communities, areas with limited health and behavioral health services. The study included drug-using women recruited from three jails in rural Appalachia and followed-up at 12-months post-release. Analyses focused on differences between women who remained in the community and those who returned to custody, as well as a multivariate model to determine protective factors for reentry success. At the bivariate level, staying out of jail was associated with being older, having a job, not using drugs, stable housing, receiving health treatment, and having prosocial peers. …

Opening Doors For Health Disparities Research In Appalachia, Frances J. Feltner, Mace Baker, Kentucky Homeplace, University Of Kentucky

Center of Excellence in Rural Health Presentations

Rural Appalachian communities in eastern Kentucky suffer from some of the nation’s most severe health disparities and barriers to health care. Communitybased research can be an effective way to address health disparities and promote equitable access to care by identifying problems and sharing workable solutions. However, significant challenges exist for successful recruitment and retention of research participants because rural Appalachian populations can be difficult to reach.

Kentucky Homeplace (KHP) is a nationally-recognized Community Health Worker (CHW) program established in 1994 by the University of Kentucky (UK) Center of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH) in Hazard. KHP is an invaluable and …

Healthalachia: Rural Appalachian Youth Creating Solutions For Our Future, Frances J. Feltner, Melissa A. Slone, Beth Bowling

Center of Excellence in Rural Health Presentations

Kentucky’s Appalachian youth experience high rates of adverse childhood experiences. Opioid abuse, poverty and unemployment dominate our news headlines. Youth are suffering negative impacts of these issues and experiencing disproportionate rates of depression, suicidal thoughts, food insecurities, obesity and lack of physical activity. Overdose deaths and incarceration rates among parents with substance abuse disorders negatively impact family units and contribute to increased homelessness, foster care and kinship care among our youth population.

Healthalachia was developed and piloted as a student-based, youth empowerment initiative that provides competitive mini-grants and research mentors to groups of high schoolers who aim to identify a …