Rural America is facing a growing health crisis, marked by limited access to care, aging populations and worsening outcomes—including higher rates of chronic disease, maternal mortality and premature death—affecting nearly 60 million people.

These disparities stem not just from a lack of hospitals or doctors, but from deeper structural issues like poverty, isolation, and inadequate infrastructure, including broadband. While innovative, community-based models are showing promise, lasting solutions will require intentionally designed systems that engage and support rural communities directly.

“The rural U.S. is sick, poor, and losing population. And the health and longevity gap between rural and urban America is growing wider every year,” says Shannon Monnat, professor of sociology and Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health.

“We often treat rural as a category of deficiency. But the truth is that rural communities have enormous assets—tight-knit networks, cultural resilience and deep place-based knowledge. They just need systems that work with them, not around them,” she says.

Read more in the Forbes article, “ Rural Health Resilience.”