About the Seminar: Today, approximately 20% of the U.S. population about 60 million people live in rural areas, which make up 97% of the land area in the United States. People living in rural America have less access to health care and are more likely than residents of urban areas to die from chronic conditions such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory disease. Moreover, long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put many rural residents at increased risk of getting COVID-19. The rural/urban inequities in health and health care warrant more rigorous and innovative scientific research to improve testing, contact tracing, and future vaccination for rural Americans. This seminar will explore the impact of the COVID-19 on rural populations, systems and workforce issues and community engagement to respond to the pandemic.

1:00 – 1:05 p.m.

Welcome & Opening Remarks

Priscah Mujuru, DrPH, MPH, RN, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, NIH

Xinzhi Zhang, MD, PhD, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH

1:05 – 1:55 p.m.

Keynote Address

Remarks and Introduction: Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable MD, Director, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, NIH

Keynote Address: Marshall Bloom, MD, Associate Director for Science Management, Rocky Mountain Laboratories and Chief of the Biology of Vector-Borne Viruses Section, Hamilton Montana Labs, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH

1:55 – 2:10 p.m.

Tom Morris, MPA, Associate Administrator for Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration

2:10 – 3:20 p.m.

Session 1: Rural Population Impact and Response in the Time of COVID-19

Moderator: Joni Rutter, PhD, Deputy Director, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH

Speakers:

Brenda Eskenazi, MA, PhD, University of California Berkeley

COVID-19 and its Impact on the Health of Californian Farmworkers and Their Families

Randall Akee, PhD, University of California Los Angeles

Social and Economic Correlates of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander COVID-19 Rates in Hawaii and the Continental U.S.

Cathleen Willging, PhD, University of New Mexico

Elucidating Inequities under COVID-19: Real-Time Research into the Wellbeing of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in Rural New Mexico

Early Stage Investigator talks:

Thomas Chávez PhD, University of New Mexico

UndocuResearch: Health and Wellbeing Among Undocumented Youth in New Mexico

Vincent Werito (Diné) PhD, University of New Mexico

Defining Community Wellbeing Through Community Engaged Research with Three Navajo Communities

3:20 – 3:30 p.m.

BREAK

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Session 2: Researchers and Community Partners respond to the Challenges of COVID-19

Moderator: Monica Webb Hooper, PhD, Deputy Director, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, NIH

Speakers:

Stacy Rasmus, PhD, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Research in Rural Alaska in a Pandemic: Engaging Communities

Alice Ammerman, DrPH, University of North Carolina

Interventions to Address Job Loss and Food Security in Rural Communities During COVID

Lydia Bazzano, MD, PhD, Tulane University

Research and Community Collaboration in the Time of COVID: The Bogalusa Experience

Giselle Corbie-Smith, MD, MSc, University of North Carolina & Mysha Wynn, MA, Founder and Executive Director of Project Momentum, Inc.

Project GRACE: Rural Partnerships in Action

Project GRACE: Rural Partnerships in Action

4:45 – 5:00 p.m.

Closing Remarks

Griffin Rodgers, MD, MACP, Director, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH

URL to NIH VideoCast: https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=38788

URL to Rural Health Seminar Webpage: https://nimhd.nih.gov/news-events/conferences-events/rural-health.html

Question Inbox: RuralHealthDay@NIH.gov

Co-Sponsoring NIH Institutes and Centers:

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

Planning Committee:

Priscah Mujuru Dr.PH., M.P.H., R.N. NIMHD, Co-Chair

Xinzhi Zhang, M.D., Ph.D. NCATS, Co-Chair

Ligia Artiles, M.A. NIMHD

Rick Berzon, Dr.PH., P.A. NIMHD

Dorothy Castille, Ph.D. NIMHD

Brandin DeChabert, B.A. NIDA

Qi Duan, Ph.D. NIBIB

Minnjuan Flournoy-Floyd, Ph.D. NIDA

Sai Majii, Ph.D. NICHD

Janki Patel, M.B.A. NIMHD

Melissa Green Parker, Ph.D. NIH OD

Antoinette Percy-Laurry, Dr.PH., M.SP.H. NCI

Antonello Punturieri, M.D., Ph.D. NHLBI

Rebekah Rasooly, Ph.D. NINR

Rob Rivers, Ph.D. NIDDK

Darien Weatherspoon, D.D.S., M.P.H. NIDCR

Sallie Weaver, Ph.D., M.H.S. NCI

Acknowledgements: The NIH Rural Health Interest Workgroup & the NIH-HHS Rural Health Task Force Representatives Nathan Stinson MD, PhD, NIMHD, and Shobha Srinivasan, PhD, NCI.

Individuals with disabilities who need Sign Language Interpreters and/or reasonable accommodation to participate in this event should contact Edgar Dews at Edgar.Dews@nih.gov, 301-402-1366, and/or the Federal Relay (1-800-877-8339).