Social Science Research on Rural Population Health

Framework for Multilevel and Multidimensional Pathways Affecting Health and Mortality across the Life Course
(Adapted from NASEM 2021)

Structural Factors

• Federal, state and local policies
• Macroeconomic trends
• Environmental shocks & stressors
• Examples:
  • Policies related to the environment, health care, etc.
  • Globalization
  • Technological development
  • Environmental disasters
  • Changing climate

Community Factors

• Built environment
• Physical environment
• Social environment
• Labor Market & Economy
• Examples:
  • Availability of:
    • Grocery stores
    • Healthcare providers
    • Recreation spaces
    • Social infrastructure
    • Quality schools
  • Social support
  • Discrimination
  • Job availability and quality

Individual Factors

• Biological factors
• Health behaviors
• Socioeconomic resources
• Examples:
  • Socioeconomic status
  • Legal status
  • Dietary behavior
  • Physical activity
  • Substance use
  • Healthcare utilization

Morbidity & Mortality

• Physical, mental, cognitive health

The Social Science Research on Rural Population Health (SSRRPH) working group aims to facilitate and bolster rural health research among social scientists at Penn State, with particular attention to the study of structural and social determinants of rural population health.

Rural America is home to higher rates of chronic health conditions, poor self-rated health, and premature mortality. These disparities have been linked not only to differences in access to health care but also to broader social and structural factors like access to healthy food and quality employment as well as experiences with discrimination. While differential health care access accounts for about 10 to 20 percent of the modifiable determinants of health, social and structural factors make up the remaining 80 to 90 percent; yet they tend to receive less attention in both research and interventions.

SSRRPH encourages teams to focus on these up-stream social and structural determinants of rural-urban and within-rural health disparities. To do this, we draw on an adapted framework proposed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (2021), which emphasizes the important role of structural determinants of health (e.g. policies, macroeconomic contexts and trends, climate change), community determinants of health (e.g. social, family, work, and physical and built environments), as well as individual determinants of health (e.g. biological function, health behaviors, socioeconomic resources, and health care use). We also recognize that interdisciplinary teams that draw on both the social and physical sciences are essential for understanding the multilevel and multidimensional pathways affecting health and mortality for rural populations.

If you are interested in being added to the SSRRPH listserv about upcoming opportunities, please email Danielle Rhubart at dcr185@psu.edu.

Read a summary from the first Social Science Research on Rural Population Health Symposium held in January 2024 by clicking here.

Working Group Members:

• Drs. Danielle Rhubart (BBH)*
• Leif Jensen (RSOC)*
• Kristina Brant (RSOC)*
• Alexis Santos (HDFS)
• Jessica Ho (SOC)
• Joel Segel (HPA)

* Founding Members

Events