Grid for The Reduction of Vulnerability
The
GROV
A space connecting researchers, officials, and community members who are concerned with public health services and policies relevant to health in US rural communities.
ABOUT
The GROV
Oftentimes, the communities most affected by health crises (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid epidemic, outbreaks of measles) are rural ones, left in physical and social isolation. These impacted communities and other concerned parties have no centralized access to reliable information and often lack the necessary power to enact beneficial policies (e.g., implementing syringe exchange programs, expanding testing and prevention). In addition to the improvement of overextension in health workers, policymakers are required to identify needs and solutions to the crisis, and rural inhabitants need effective approaches to receive and share concise information and to counteract misconceptions. This grid pursues these goals and tests innovative methods of public health communication.
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The GROV is a network of researchers and state/local health departments united by the goal of investigating, communicating, and pursuing practical solutions for rural communities.
Team
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RESEARCHERS
Alexandra Heyman Nash Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor
University of Pennsylvania
Dolores Albarracin
Ph.D.
Research Director, Annenberg Public Policy Center
University of Pennsylvania
​
Marta Duratini
Ph.D.
Department Chair and professor of Statistics
University of Illinois
Bo Li
Ph.D.
Professor of Behavioral Medicine & Psychiatry
West Virginia University
Judith Feinberg
Ph.D., M.D.
Research Assistant Professor of Psychology
University of Pennsylvania
Man-pui Sally Chan
Ph.D.
Research Associate
University of Pennsylvania
Bita Fayad
Ph.D.
Postdoctoral
Researcher
University of Pennsylvania
Annie Jung
Ph.D.
ADVISORS
Associate Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
University of Illinois
Bita Fayad
​
Nikita Borisov
Ph.D.
Edward W.Boyer
Ph.D., M.D.
Professor of Psychology
University of Illinois
Alex Morales
​
Dov Cohen
Ph.D.
Professor of Epidemiology
Medical College of Wisconsin
Julia Dickson-Gomez Ph.D.
Laura Glasman
Ph.D.
Dean, School of Public Health
University at Albany, SUNY
Alex Morales
​
David Holtgrave
Ph.D.
Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication
University of Pennsylvania
Kathleen H. Jamieson Ph.D.
Professor of Health, Behavior & Society
Johns Hopkins University
Bita Fayad
​
Carl Latkin
Ph.D.
Chadly Stern
Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Computer Science & Advertising
University of Illinois
Alex Morales
​
Hari Sundaram
Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Wisconsin
Ryan P. Westergaard Ph.D., M.D., M.P.H.
ChengXiang Zhai
Ph.D.
Target
Areas: Opioid Epidemic, Vaccines, COVID-19
The Opioid Epidemic: In 2016, Van Handel et al. used a number of indicators to calculate an HIV/HCV vulnerability score for each US county to identify which were most vulnerable. On top of securing vulnerability scores for HIV/HCV, the scores also reveal many counties in the Midwest and Appalachia that are particularly vulnerable to the US opioid epidemic.
The GROV comprises state health agencies and county health departments from many of these vulnerable regions (see the left panel of below figure for vulnerable states/counties and the right panel for those partnered with the GROV) and as of July 2018, includes 42% of the most vulnerable counties in the Midwest and Appalachia while other health departments continue to join.
Our
Partners
Health Departments
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Georgia Department of Public Health
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Indiana State Department of Health
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Illinois Department of Health*
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Kansas Department of Health & Environment*
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Kentucky Health Department*
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Michigan Department of Health and Human Services*
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Missouri Department of Health*
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North Carolina Department of Health*
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Ohio Department of Health*
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Tennessee Department of Health*
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Virginia Department of Health*
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West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
*represented via specific county health departments
States, Counties, and Types of Agencies
Stay
In
Touch
