Rural Health Interest Group

The NIH Rural Health Interest Group (RHIG) is a transdisciplinary group of scientists at NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs) who provide scientific leadership, vision, and support to strengthen rural health research. The RHIG seeks to build and foster a community of intramural and extramural NIH staff with a common interest and expertise in rural health disparity issues; and to develop a safe environment for mutual exchange of knowledge and experience. The group provides an NIH-wide forum for sharing and examining programs, initiatives, and strategies aligned with the NIH mission, and seeks to enhance and accelerate research among diverse populations in rural areas and geographical regions of the country.

The RHIG through its intramural and extramural programs encourages career and professional development of both NIH staff and grant recipients, and serves as a resource to the NIH staff to be creative and innovative in its implementation of NIH scientific and training programs designed to diversify the Nation’s research enterprise to improve the health of rural communities which are underserved and underrepresented in biomedical sciences. A critical public health need is to build upon the current evidence-based programs to fully understand the conditions that precipitate poor health and well-being of the growing diverse rural populations by developing and implementing the next-generation of interventions to improve health outcomes for all. To advance the field of rural health research, the RHIG works to evaluate the state of the science and disseminate scientific information and NIH research priorities through meetings and seminars. The Group also recommends topics and speakers for a range of events, including the annual NIH Rural Health Seminar in recognition of National Rural Health Day.

The RHIG holds regular meetings to highlight research activities by NIH as well as the scientific priorities and related activities of participating ICOs. Meetings are also used to advance collaborative projects pursued by the RHIG. In addition to regular meetings, the Group hosts webinar series to showcase cutting edge research on rural approaches to optimize implementation and prevention strategies to address rural health disparities. For additional questions please e-mail one of the Chairs (mujurup@nih.gov or xinzhi.zhang@nih.gov.

Mailing List

To join the Rural Health Interest Group mailing list, please visit the Rural Health Interest Group Listserv home page, then click the “Subscribe or Unsubscribe” link in the right sidebar.