Addressing Rural Health Needs: The Impact, Challenges, and Barriers to Community Health Resource Centers

Abstract

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 20 percent of the U.S population resides in rural or remote communities. The populations that Community Health Resource Centers (CHRC) services usually have low income and are in medically underserved areas. The purpose of this paper is to describe a systematic community-based participatory approach for identifying and addressing rural health concerning the development of Community Health Resource Center in the Brazos Valley Area of Central Texas. In an effort to study the unique health needs and priorities of rural communities, a student researcher chose to evaluate the impact, needs, and challenges of CHRC. The researcher held one-on-one interviews with the 12 participants from various rural counties to gain further insight into the inner workings of CHRCs. Interviews were conducted via Zoom and were audio and visually recorded and transcribed for analysis purposes. Interviewees consented to be interviewed for at least 45 minutes to answer relevant questions about the issues, challenges, and barriers to developing their respective CHRC (N=12). Overall, three topics surfaced as the most critical overall priority concerns for these counties: (1) lack of infrastructure, (2) social issues, (3) access to quality care and (4) COVID-19 limitations. Using proven methods of community-based participatory research, valuable input has been applied towards assessing the needs and challenges of each CHRC and identifying the impact of the CHRC in their respective counties.