Issue Brief: Defining Rural Population Health and Health Equity

New National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) issue brief examines the definitions of population health and health equity for rural stakeholders, and offers examples of successful rural strategies.

In recent years, the terms “population health” and “health equity” have often been used interchangeably by some rural stakeholders. This issue brief aims to examine the differences between the two terms, and offers successful examples of rural population health and health equity activities by State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) and their partners. The brief also offers suggestions on how rural health stakeholders can get started in population health and health equity efforts at the state and local levels.

With support from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, NOSORH developed this issue brief for SORH and other rural health stakeholders as a means of ensuring unified definitions and approaches to population health and health equity by rural stakeholders.