The NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis and the Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) developed the Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response Toolkit to help rural community leaders better protect and prepare their rural community for the next emergency or disaster. The toolkit compiles evidence-based and promising models, information, resources, and case studies to support rural organizations with emergency planning, response, and recovery efforts.

Effective emergency preparedness and response efforts are essential for rural communities. The NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis and the Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) developed the Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response Toolkit to support and strengthen rural preparedness and response programs. Toolkit development was supported by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Department (HHS), under Cooperative Agreement Number U9SRH45173.

Our article, Supporting Rural Community Emergency Planning, Response, and Recovery, shares key insights from the Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response Toolkit. The toolkit presents information and resources on preparedness frameworks, population considerations, planning and assessment examples, and funding support. Because rural communities all have unique characteristics, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to rural preparedness. Yet, there are common approaches rural community planners can use to effectively deal with and mitigate the adverse effects of emergencies and disasters, both in the short- and long-term.

Key Insights from the Toolkit

• Rural planners can use existing frameworks to guide their planning efforts and bolster their preparedness and response capacity.
• Rural communities are likely to have concentrations of residents who require additional support during or after a response; rural organizations must address the needs of populations disproportionately affected by an emergency or disaster.
• Partnerships are a vital component of successful preparedness and response efforts. Partners can support planning and implementation, fill resource and capacity gaps, and help meet the needs of all community members.
• Funding is essential to supporting effective preparedness and response efforts in rural communities and for ensuring that rural communities can reestablish operations, resources, and systems following a disaster.

Implications

Read the Article

The Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response Toolkit offers strategies, resources, real-world examples, best practices, and tools to support rural community planners with effective disaster planning, response, and recovery efforts. Inclusive and comprehensive planning is necessary to bolster emergency response, recovery, and community capacity to ensure the needs of all populations are met during and after an emergency or disaster event. Rural preparedness, response, and recovery comprise an ongoing and evolving process that requires the involvement of partners that span different sectors and levels of government. Further, investing in emergency preparedness is vital for supporting and ensuring health and equity in rural communities. These considerations and more are described in our article, Supporting Rural Community Emergency Planning, Response, and Recovery.

Read the full practice brief report in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice:

• Supporting Rural Community Emergency Planning, Response, and Recovery

Alexa Siegfried, MPH, is a Senior Research Scientist at the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis. She is a mixed-methods researcher with expertise in emergency preparedness, rural health, and public health systems, among other topics. Her work focuses on advancing the evidence base around public health practice and rural community health programs. 

Meghan Melnick, MPH, is a Senior Research Associate at the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis. She has expertise in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. She conducts research studies and program evaluations on a variety of topics, including emergency preparedness, environmental health, climate and health, and rural health.