Precision Approaches Improve Community Health

Authors

• Roger A. Rennekamp, Extension Health DirectorFollow
• David Buys, Mississippi State UniversityFollow

Volume

64

Issue

1

Abstract

Recent advances in data science provide Extension practitioners with access to data sorted by zip code, census tract, or neighborhood. Such hyper-local data now allows Extension personnel to assess community needs and assets at a more granular level and focus their work on the people and communities of greatest need. In this article, we introduce an approach we refer to as precision public health. Using such a precision approach to community assessment and, ultimately, programming can save money, increase the likelihood of producing measurable results, and create more manageable workloads for county-based Extension personnel.

Authors’ Contribution Statement

Roger Rennekamp and David Buys contributed equally to all aspects of this work. Both authors collaboratively conceptualized the study, developed the methodology, contributed to data collection and analysis, wrote the original draft, and engaged in critical review and editing of the manuscript. Both authors accept full responsibility for the content of the published work.

Data Availability

No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Rennekamp, R., & Buys, D. (2026). Precision Approaches Improve Community Health. Journal of Extension, 64(1), Article 20. https://doi.org/10.66752/1077-5315.5479