Targeted Rural Health Education Project Keeps Growing

Nov 13, 2026

The website for the Targeted Rural Health Education (TRHE) project has changed locations. The project's webpages will now be located on the Center for Rural Health (CRH) website, and will include information about the program, as well as over 95 student-written articles. The project, which began in 2016 through a partnership among the University of North Dakota (UND) CRH, the Department of Family & Community Medicine, within the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences, and the North Dakota Rural Health Association (NDRHA), supports health profession students in writing plain-language articles about a community health need.

Importance of Language

The TRHE project addresses the need to increase health profession students' usage of plain language and health literacy principles. This program helps health profession students branch out of their technical writing comfort zone and make their written and spoken health messaging more accessible. The final product of the project is a student-authored newspaper article suitable for rural publication.

The TRHE project is a requirement for Rural Opportunities in Medical Education (ROME) students and counts as a week of credit during their experience. ROME students are uniquely qualified to participate in the TRHE project, as their extended time in a rural community offers them a close look at the health needs of the community where they are learning. Students can complete the article during their ROME experience and enjoy real-time community feedback from the published rural newspaper article.

A Decade of Published Work

For a decade, the project has been going strong, with nearly 100 students publishing articles in 25 rural newspapers across three states.

Seneca Riggins, senior communications and marketing specialist with CRH, joined the TRHE team as the new writing advisor this year. He said the impact the program makes is more important than many may consider.

"It's great to get these articles published, but these exercises extend beyond the newspaper and into the clinics," said Riggins. "The practice of turning important health information into everyday words is a superpower that really bridges knowledge and equity."

The program focuses on using clear and concise language over jargon when speaking with patients or the general public. By the time the students complete their article, they will have a deeper and richer ability to convey health information in an accessible way.

History of Support

The program has grown considerably since its humble beginnings, according to Stacy Kusler, workforce specialist at CRH and coordinator for the TRHE project. Prior to moving to the CRH website, TRHE was hosted through the partnership with NDRHA, which helped the program blossom.

"The TRHE project would not be where it is today without the initial in-kind support from the North Dakota Rural Health Association," said Kusler. "We recognize and appreciate their involvement over the last 10 years in getting this project off the ground here in North Dakota and providing a home for our many student-authored articles. We are excited for the continued growth of the project, which is now supported with funding through the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences."

From start to present day, the TRHE project is another way to engage student learners in rural communities and build connections.