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Related Guides on this Topic

You may also want to see this guide on a related topic: Obesity and Weight Control

Introduction

Wellness is an active, lifelong process of becoming aware of choices and making decisions toward a more balanced and fulfilling life. Healthy People 2010 is a national agenda for reducing the most significant preventable threats to health. It challenges all of us to take the first step to enjoying good health and a long life. It aims to reduce the major health burdens created by obesity, diabetes, asthma, cancer, heart disease and stroke. It addresses related lifestyle choices of poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and tobacco use, as well as youth risk-taking behavior.

Rural Healthy People 2010 focuses on the health challenges faced by rural Americans. The primary goal of this project is to identify and address the priority health concerns of rural America.

Poor diet, physical inactivity, and tobacco use are the major preventable causes of death in the United States. With the increasing health problems related to poor lifestyle choices, there is an emphasis on wellness programs and disease prevention. Wellness and disease prevention are particularly issues for rural areas, which have higher rates of elderly individuals, higher poverty rates, and limited access to health care facilities to provide care and health education.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tools

Active Living by Design
Web site
Is a national program that establishes innovative approaches to increase physical activity through community design, public policies and communications strategies. Is funding 25 community partnerships across the country to demonstrate how changing community design will impact physical activity.
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Foundation Funding Guide: Adolescent Health, Positive Youth Development
Web site
Lists state and national foundations with an interest in adolescent health and youth development.
Sponsoring organization: National Association of County and City Health Officials

Foundation Funding Guide: Child and Adolescent Nutrition and Physical Activity
Web site
Lists state and national foundations with an interest in child and adolescent nutrition and physical activity.
Sponsoring organization: National Association of County and City Health Officials

Healthfinder
Database
Has been recognized as a key resource for finding the best government and nonprofit health and human services information on the Internet. Links to carefully selected information and web sites from over 1,500 health-related organizations.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Healthy People 2010
Web site
Healthy People 2010 is a set of health objectives for the Nation to achieve over the first decade of the new century. It can be used by many different people, States, communities, professional organizations, and others to help them develop programs to improve health.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Healthy People 2010 Toolkit
Web site
Provides guidance, technical tools, and resources to help states, territories, and tribes develop and promote successful state-specific Healthy People 2010 plans.
Sponsoring organization: Public Health Foundation

MedlinePlus: Healthy Living
Web site
Contains a variety of wellness resources including latest news, overviews, screening, health check tools, nutrition, and related issues.
Sponsoring organization: National Library of Medicine

Rural Health Research: Health promotion and disease prevention
Web site
Provides summaries of current and completed rural health research projects and related publications addressing the topic of health promotion and disease prevention, produced by the Office of Rural Health Policy's funded rural health research centers.
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway

Rural Healthy People 2010: Volumes 1, 2, 3
Web site
Includes links to the publication including Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Volume 1 contains brief overviews of the top rural health priority areas as well as associated Models for Practice. Volume 2 contains in-depth literature reviews for each of the top rural health priority areas. Volume 3 contains overviews, literature reviews, and accompanying models for practice for new focus areas.
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center

Steps to a HealthierUS
Web site
An initiative that advances the HealthierUS goal of helping Americans live longer, better, and healthier lives. Through the CDC, the Steps initiative operates a cooperative agreement program office that provides funding to 40 communities nationwide to support evidence-based community interventions.
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Funding

2008 Aetna Foundation Regional Community Health Grants Program
This program provides funding focused on reducing disparities in health care among racial and ethnic populations in eligible geographic areas.

Cooperative Agreements for Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health (LAUNCH)
The purpose of Project LAUNCH is to promote the wellness of young children, birth to 8 years of age.

Shade Structure Program
Funds for the purchase for permanent shade structures to non-profit organizations in need of shade for outdoor locations.

Wellmark Foundation Community Responsive Grant (Cycle 2)
Grants to improve the health of communities in South Dakota and Iowa.

William Randolph Hearst Foundations Health Grants
Provides funding to improve access to quality health care for underserved populations in rural and urban areas.

Inactive Funding

Inactive Funding Opportunities - Lists additional funding programs for this topic that are not currently accepting applications. Programs that are inactive may be offered again in the future.

Regulations, Forms & Other Useful Documents

Around the Country: California Dancing to Deter Diabetes
Author(s): Hope Hanson
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Discusses the Reach Out Program in rural Lake County, California which uses exercise and dancing to help promote diabetic education.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 08 / 2005

Corporate Wellness Makes a Bottom-Line Difference: The Cost Benefit of Worksite Wellness
Sponsoring organization: Wellness Councils of America
Describes specific examples of the cost benefits of corporations which have worksite wellness programs.

Creating Healthy States: Actions for Governors
Sponsoring organization: National Governor's Association
Identified three important venues including communities, worksites, and schools where wellness programs can influence the nation's health. State governors can facilitate healthy choices in communities, implement model programs and policies at public and private worksites, and use the public education system to improve child nutrition and physical fitness.
Date: 2006

Does the Built Environment Influence Physical Activity? Examining the Evidence
Sponsoring organization: Institute of Medicine
Discusses the role of the built environment, including buildings, roads, parks, and other structures that physically define a community, in physical activity.
Date: 01 / 2005

Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, 2007: Recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Provides recommendations on screening, counseling, and preventive medication topics and includes clinical considerations for each topic. Recommendations are organized for quick reference and easy searching.
Date: 09 / 2007

Healthy America: Wellness Where We Live, Work and Learn
Sponsoring organization: National Governor's Association
Highlights the simple yet specific behavioral and lifestyle changes necessary for sustainable long-term health and wellness for children, teenagers, adults and seniors.

Healthy Community Design: Success Stories from State and Local Leaders
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Discusses the role community leaders can play in supporting active living. Includes profiles of successful community, state and regional efforts that encourage exercise.
Date: 12 / 2004

Healthy Schools for Healthy Kids
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Identifies opportunities for increasing children's physical activity and healthy eating in schools nationwide. Includes an investigation of relevant policies and programs.
Date: 2003

Lessons Learned: Promoting Physical Activity at the Community Level
Author(s): Janet Heroux
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Examines 25 projects funded by RWJF to promote walking, biking and other activities and offers 12 lessons learned.
Date: 09 / 2005

Making Places for Healthy Kids: An Environmental Scan of Places Designed for Children to be Active
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Examines eight efforts to make changes to the built environment that create opportunities for children to be more physically active in their daily lives, such as completing sidewalks for safe routes to school, building parks conducive to children's play and planting urban gardens to promote regular exercise and healthy eating.

Native American Kids 2000: Indian Child Well-Being Indicators
Author(s): Charlotte Goodluck, Angela Willeto
Sponsoring organization: National Indian Child Welfare Association
Discusses the needs of Indian children through the National Indian Children's Alliance.
Date: 12 / 2000

Prevention 2000: Moving Effective Prevention Programs into Practice
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Identifies a range of conclusions and recommendations compiled at an October 2000 symposium focusing on advancing the prevention of alcohol, tobacco and other drug problems in the United States.
Date: 09 / 2001

Preventive Care: A National Profile on Use, Disparities, and Health Benefits
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Report demonstrates that there is significant underuse of effective preventive care in the United States, resulting in lost lives, unnecessary poor health, and inefficient use of health care dollars.
Date: 08 / 2007

Resource Guide for Nutrition and Physical Activity Interventions to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Resource guide for nutrition and physical activity programs to prevent and control obesity and other chronic diseases. Topics cover obesity prevention and control, increased physical activity, improved nutrition, and reduced television time.

Rural Healthy People 2010: Educational and Community Based Programs in Rural Areas: A Literature Review
Author(s): Larry Gamm, Graciela Castillo, Lisa Williams
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
Detailed literature review of rural health issues associated with the Healthy People 2010 focus area on educational and community-based programs.
Date: 01 / 2005

Rural Healthy People 2010: A Companion Document to Healthy People 2010. Volume 1
Author(s): Larry D. Gamm, Linnae L. Hutchison, Betty J. Dabney, Alicia M. Dorsey, eds.
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
Brief overviews of the top rural health concerns and objectives associated with Healthy People 2010 focus areas, references to key literature about these concerns, and descriptions of models for practice that rural communities can draw upon to achieve key Healthy People 2010 objectives.
Date: 2003

Rural Healthy People 2010: A Companion Document to Healthy People 2010. Volume 2
Author(s): Larry D. Gamm, Linnae L. Hutchison, Betty J. Dabney, Alicia M. Dorsey, eds.
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
Detailed literature reviews and associated references for the top rural health concerns addressed in Vol. 1 of Rural Healthy People 2010.
Date: 2003

Rural Healthy People 2010: A Companion Document to Healthy People 2010. Volume 3
Author(s): Larry D. Gamm, Linnae L. Hutchison, eds.
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
Addresses several rural health concerns and objectives not covered in Volumes 1 and 2 of Rural Healthy People 2010. Includes overviews, literature reviews, and accompanying models for practice for four rural health topics.
Date: 02 / 2005

Rural Kids Need Message that Smoking Isn't so Popular
Rural teenagers smoke more than their city cousins, but a new survey of Iowa seventh-graders suggests that keeping small-town and farm kids from first lighting up may hinge on teaching parents to send anti-smoking messages to their kids.
Date: 07 / 2003

State Employee Wellness Initiatives
Sponsoring organization: National Governors Association Center for Best Practices
An issue brief which highlights wellness and prevention programs that several governors have implemented in their states in the last few years.
Date: 06 / 2005

Taking Steps to Restore Tribal Fitness
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Discusses the Enhancing a Community Through Physical Activity project at the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Reservation Tribal Wellness Center near Plummer, Idaho.
Journal citation: Advances Issue 1 Pages: 8
Date: 2004

Violence and Rural Teens: Teen Violence, Drug Use, and School-Based Prevention Services in Rural America (Executive Summary)
Author(s): Michael D. Mink, Charity G. Moore, Andy Johnson, Janice C. Probst, Amy Martin
Sponsoring organization: South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
Describes a study which had three main purposes: (1) to explore the prevalence of violence-related exposures and drug use among rural teens, (2) to investigate the effects of race and gender on the risk of exposure to violence and drug use, and (3) to compare the policies and mental health care services of rural and urban schools.
Date: 03 / 2005

We Walk Many Together
Author(s): Leonard Wells
Sponsoring organization: National Resource Center on Native American Aging
Discusses a voluntary walking and exercise program for Elders with the White Earth Band of Ojibwa.
Journal citation: Native Aging Visions Volume 4 Issue 2 Pages: 2
Date: 11 / 2004

Journals

Journey to Wellness
An online health magazine for African Americans.

Organizations

Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK)
Nonprofit/Foundation
Nationwide initiative dedicated to improving the health and educational performance of children through better nutrition and physical activity in schools. Provides tools and resources to support healthy schools.

American Public Health Association (APHA)
National organization
Works to influence policies and set priorities in public health.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Federal government
Lead federal agency for protecting the health and safety of people at home and abroad. Work includes disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States.

National Rural Health Association (NRHA)
National organization
Promotes leadership, ideas, information, communication, education, research, advocacy, and methods to improve rural health. Composed of individual and organizational members who share a common interest in rural health.

Wellness Councils of America (Welcoa)
Nonprofit/Foundation
Was founded in 1987 as a national non-profit membership organization dedicated to promoting healthier life styles for all Americans, especially through health promotion initiatives at the worksite.

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Page last updated 4/30/2008
Topic last reviewed 8/24/2007

News
Apr 30, 2008 -- Speak Your Piece: Throwaway Lives?

Apr 22, 2008 -- Life Expectancy Slips in Poor Parts of America

Apr 21, 2008 -- AHRQ and Ad Council Encourage Men to Take Preventive Steps in Their Health Care

Apr 18, 2008 -- 'Green' Exercise May Improve Mental, Physical Health

Apr 18, 2008 -- Eating Disorders May be Contagious: Study

Apr 17, 2008 -- CDC Report Points to Need for New Foodborne Illness Strategies

Apr 17, 2008 -- Chest Compressions Anyone? CPR for Bystanders

Apr 17, 2008 -- USFA and the National Volunteer Fire Council Release Report on Emerging Health and Safety Issues in the Volunteer Fire Service

Apr 15, 2008 -- Salmonella Illnesses in Multiple States may be Linked to Recently Recalled Cereal

Apr 9, 2008 -- Aggressively Lowering Cholesterol and Blood Pressure May Reverse Atherosclerosis in Adults with Diabetes

Apr 8, 2008 -- Excess Fat Around the Waist May Increase Death Risk For Women

Apr 8, 2008 -- Smoking Early in Pregnancy Raises Risks of Heart Defects In Newborns

Apr 3, 2008 -- CMS Releases Regulation Modernizing Dialysis Centers

Apr 3, 2008 -- Shortchanging America's Health 2008: A State-By-State Look at How Federal Public Health Dollars Are Spent

Apr 3, 2008 -- The High Cost of Living: Affordability Now an Issue with Cancer Treatments

Apr 2, 2008 -- Major Collaboration Uncovers Surprising New Genetic Clues to Diabetes

Apr 1, 2008 -- Combining Internet With Office Visits Cut Heart Attack Risks

Mar 31, 2008 -- New National Public Health Program Shows Smokers How to Become an EX®

Mar 25, 2008 -- FDA Warns of Salmonella Risk with Cantaloupes from Agropecuaria Montelibano

Mar 17, 2008 -- New Study Shows Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates Increasing Among U.S. Adults

Mar 17, 2008 -- Rural Ozone: Crops and Country Lungs

About this Page
Credits

Developed by:
Holly Gabriel
holly@raconline.org


Thanks goes to:

Marcia Ory, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Professor, Social and Behavioral Health;
Director, Active for Life National Program Office, School of Rural Public Health, Texas A&M University



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