Issue link: http://accesshealth.uberflip.com/i/1543764
a cce s s H ea l t h N ews . n e t M a rc h 2 0 2 6 Volume 11 | Issue No. 104 50 Policy makers are now connecting the dots and understanding how social determinants of health and a lack of health equity moves downstream to manifest poor health outcomes in both rural and urban communities. It's important to note that access to quality care contributes only 20% to one's overall health and wellness. Other social determinants of health, which are non-clinical, make up the highest predictors of health outcomes. Socioeconomic factors make up 40% and include things like education, job status, family and social support, income, and community safety. One's physical environment makes up 10%. Health behaviors like tobacco and alcohol use, diet and exercise, and sexual activity make up the remaining 30%. Two sides of the same coin Although resilient, rural and urban communities share many of the same social determinants of health, like access barriers to care, poverty, food deserts, transportation, and broadband access. W hat is the state of rural health care in Missouri? Some might say fragmented, while others see hope. For rural America, the glass may be half full, or at least trending in that direction. During the Missouri Rural Health Association's 2021 Get Link'd Annual Conference, Brock Slabach, chief operating officer of the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), delivered the keynote address that talked about the state of rural health, as well as advocacy efforts underway to implement health policy changes that address some of Missouri's most flagrant health inequities. This advocacy has gained momentum after the COVID-19 pandemic provided an impetus for policy makers to see, clear eyed, what's broken, and with pressure from advocates, how to fix it. "We have unprecedented challenges that exist right now in the rural safety net," Slabach said. "We were already stretched to the limits before the pandemic with comorbidities and mortalities that challenged our rural communities. Then the pandemic hit. aH The Rural vs. Urban Safiety Net: Two Sides of the Same Coin? Published in October 2021