Medical Students Partner with Local Newspapers to Inform Rural Communities on Health Data

Oct 1, 2024

Health profession students at the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine & Health Sciences are utilizing local newspapers to share a wealth of health information with rural communities. These students are enrolled in the Targeted Rural Health Education (TRHE) project, a health literacy program for health professional students and resident physicians studying in rural areas. It is a collaborative effort between the North Dakota Rural Health Association, the Center for Rural Health (CRH), and the UND Department of Family and Community Medicine.

The goal is to aid students in the translation of public health information into a community-specific health education article written in plain language and suitable for publication in a rural newspaper. The originated at the Idaho Family Medicine Residency and was established at UND in 2017. So far, UND students have written 65 articles as part of TRHE.

Benefits

Stacy Kusler, workforce specialist at CRH, shares how participation in TRHE can be beneficial.

"Students learn to understand the importance of rural newspapers as a way to deliver important health information to community members. They also experience a deeper connection to the community knowing that their information is being consumed, learned, and understood by individuals they may very well see in a clinic setting," she says. "Students are using their real-time experiences to influence the article and their clinical practices by using plain language practices in both settings."

Chloe Kaelberer, a third-year medical student, recently had her article, Mindset Matters: Talking Motivation in Diabetes Management, published in the Hazen Star. Dan Arens, editor of the Hazen Star, has published multiple student articles from the TRHE project. Rural newspaper partners are a crucial piece of this program's success.

"Rural communities often face challenges when it comes to access to healthcare, in particular to specialized services that are often only available in larger entities in bigger cities. TRHE shines a spotlight both on these needs and on the practical work that is being done to meet these challenges, from the perspective of up-and-coming health care professionals," Arens said.

"The information that TRHE puts out can help both residents and providers learn more about the tools available to assist rural areas with health and wellness, and also provides a means of getting that information and education out more broadly through partnerships like that with The Hazen Star," he said.

How to Participate

Participation in TRHE is mandatory for students enrolled in the Rural Opportunities in Medical Education (ROME) curriculum through the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences. But the project is not exclusive to ROME students, any graduate level health profession student or resident physician affiliated with UND can participate, particularly those who have enrolled in a rural medicine shadowing opportunity or clinical rotation.