Groundbreaking survey conducted across three major US regions sheds light on household and community well-being
A new data initiative by the Regional Rural Development Centers has produced an open access dataset available to all researchers nationally. Collected in a groundbreaking, multi-region Baseline Survey 2024, the household-level dataset establishes a baseline to inform policy decisions, community…
Kowalkowski Awarded the Lloyd Prize for Innovative Health Research
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) is thrilled to announce Jennifer Kowalkowski is the winner of the 2025 Lloyd Prize for Innovative Health Research. Kowalkowski is an assistant professor of nursing at the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of…
How safe is the air to breathe? 50 million people in the US don't know
In 2024, more than 50 million people in the United States lived in counties with no air-quality monitoring, according to a new study from researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development. Rural counties — especially counties in the Midwest and South — were less likely to have…
In many of Appalachia’s flood-ravaged areas, residents have little choice but rebuild in risky locations
By Kristina Brant, Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology and SSRI cofund, for The Conversation On Valentine’s Day 2025, heavy rains started to fall in parts of rural Appalachia. Over the course of a few days, residents in eastern Kentucky watched as river levels rose and surpassed flood levels.…
Penn State hosting community engagement and applied research symposium Nov. 7–8
A symposium centering around community engagement and applied research will take place Nov. 7–8 at Penn State University Park. The event — hosted by faculty in the rural sociology program in the College of Agricultural Sciences and titled “Community-University Partnerships for Radical Community…
Bringing health care back to a rural Pennsylvania community
Snow Shoe Township is a small, rural community of around 1,700 people in central Pennsylvania that lies approximately 30 miles north of State College. A former coal mining town, Snow Shoe has seen an economic decline over the years. Then, in the span of one year starting in 2020, Snow Shoe lost its…
Mortality rates among rural US residents vary based on race, ethnicity, region
Rural Black residents of the South have higher mortality, or death, rates than rural Black residents elsewhere, and so did Hispanic residents of the rural South and West, according to a new study by two researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development. These populations have…
Rural health symposium being held Jan. 24
The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) is hosting a Symposium on Social Science Research on Rural Health at Penn State on Jan. 24, 3 - 5 p.m., in 110 Henderson Building. According to symposium organizer Danielle Rhubart, assistant professor of biobehavioral health and demography and…