Rural Health Care Access, Organizations

This new web site is meant to serve as a forum for new ideas and will highlight best practices among college media. Bryan Murley, CMA's webmaster and student publications adviser, says the group is seeking input from anyone interested in growing college media for the future.

This international non-profit organization is dedicated to providing support, education and hope for all people affected by cancer – at no cost.

This organization has assembled a wide range of publications to help families and friends meet the many challenges they face as caregivers. From data on long-term care to overviews of specific illnesses including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and brain injuries, the Alliance provides an easy source for quick information. Some publications are in Spanish and Chinese.

A large Web site from the World Organization of Family Doctors has many free resources including listserve discussion groups, eMedicine -- a clinical diagnosis and treatment quiz publication, conference information, diagnosis and disease management handbooks, continuing education courses, and more.

Through research, education, and training, the institute "promotes the mental health and well-being of individuals, families, and professional caregivers; teaches effective caregiving practices; builds public awareness of caregiving needs; and advances public and social policies that enhance caring communities." There are many resources for professional caregivers on the site, including publications available as PDF downloads. (Source: Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving)

Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) is a nonprofit organization that promotes health through partnerships between communities and higher educational institutions. Founded in 1996, it's a network of over 1000 communities and campuses. CCPH has members throughout the United
States and, increasingly, the world who are collaborating to promote health through service-learning, community-based participatory research, broad-based coalitions and other partnership strategies. These partnerships are powerful tools for improving health professional education, civic engagement and the overall health of communities.

New America Media is a coalition of more than 700 ethnic media outlets nationwide representing the development of a more inclusive journalism. Founded in 1996 by Pacific News Service, NAM's goal is to raise the visibility of ethnic media as a major information source for California's 17 million Ethnic American residents and the changing American landscape. It's a great source of stories and commentaries that you won't find in the mainstream media.

The Berkeley Media Studies Group provides media advocacy training for diverse communities to develop skills to access the news media, frame public health issues, and advance healthy public policy. The Group analyzes news coverage of public health issues. Research projects and publications cover topics such as children's issues, alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, violence prevention, and obesity.

The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, multi-state effort, based at the University of Kentucky. Its job is to help non-metropolitan journalists define the public agenda for their communities, grasp the local impact of regional and national issues, and interpret rural issues for national media. Click on "Reports" for articles about covering health in rural America, the impact of meth and more.

The Academy for Educational Development is an independent, nonprofit organization committed to solving critical social problems and building the capacity of individuals, communities, and institutions to become more self-sufficient. AED's focus on health starts with this statement, "Without health there can be no social change." AED projects use innovative social marketing and behavior change communication programs, research and evaluation, and sound public health practice to help people adopt healthier lifestyles and address health problems. Areas of emphasis include obesity, teen pregnancy, nutrition and exercise, tobacco prevention, health disparities, prevention of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, and media and health literacy.