Investing in Healthy Rural Communities – Lessons Learned and Future Directions

The Federal Reserve System and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) created the Healthy Communities Initiative to enrich the debate on how cross-sector and place-based approaches might revitalize neighborhoods and communities, while improving health and well-being for residents. A large body of research and evidence demonstrates inextricable linkages between economic success and physical and mental well-being. People who live in economically challenged areas endure more stress, are more likely to report their own physical and mental health as being just ?fair? or ?poor,? are more prone to earlier onset of disease, and live shorter lives, irrespective of genetic predispositions. While the relationship between community conditions and the health and well-being of residents is well established, opportunities for interdisciplinary discussions, with a focus on advancing rural community vitality and health, have been few.