Building Academic-Community Partnerships to Reduce Rural Health Disparities

Authors

• LaToya J. O'Neal, University of FloridaFollow
• Marcia Brown, University of Florida
• Biswadeep Dhar, University of Florida
• Noemi Reyes, University of Florida
• Brittany Blake, University of Florida
• John Diaz, University of Florida
• Karla Shelnutt, University of Florida

Volume

64

Issue

1

Abstract

Rural health disparities are increasing in the United States. Academic–community partnerships between Extension and faith-based organizations present a unique opportunity to improve health outcomes in rural areas. The main objective of this study was to identify the perceived barriers, needs, and strategies for implementing effective and sustainable health promotion programs through Extension and faith community partnerships. We conducted semi-structured interviews with Extension professionals and faith community leaders (N = 15). Our results suggest that academic–community partnerships could leverage shared needs, resources, and strategies to serve as a model for reducing health disparities among low-income, minoritized adults residing in rural areas.

Authors’ Contribution Statement

Need from authors. Authors also need to check COI and Data availability statements.

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

O'Neal, L., Brown, M., Dhar, B., Reyes, N., Blake, B., Diaz, J., & Shelnutt, K. (2026). Building Academic-Community Partnerships to Reduce Rural Health Disparities. Journal of Extension, 64(1), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.66752/1077-5315.5567