Joel Halverson, PhD

West Virginia Rural Health Research Center

Phone: 304.293.0277
E-mail: jhalverson@hsc.wvu.edu

Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center,
Dept. of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, School of Pharmacy
West Virginia University
One Medical Center Drive
Morgantown, WV 26506

Completed Projects (2)

Rural Food Security, Food Availability, and Health Outcomes, Lead researcher
Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic: Obesity
This project will examine the characteristics of food security and food availability across the rural-urban continuum. The study will test the hypotheses that food insecurity will differ significantly between rural and urban counties in the US with rural areas experiencing more adverse conditions; and that there will be a significant relationship between food insecurity, food availability and selected adverse health outcomes in non-metropolitan counties in the US.

Rural Socioeconomic Risk and Resiliency Inventory and Associated Health Outcomes, Lead researcher
Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Poverty
This study will create a national inventory of social and economic risks and resiliencies for every county in the nation, and relate those risks to health outcome data. The study will test whether rural areas with fewer risks and greater resiliencies are related to better health outcomes.

Publications (6)

A Rural Socioeconomic Risk and Resiliency Inventory and Associated Health Outcomes (Final Report)
Author(s): Joel A. Halverson, Michael Hendryx
Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Environmental & agricultural health, Public health
Date: 03 / 2011
Rural areas, especially in the Southeast, Appalachia and parts of the West, have worse VRI (Vulnerability and Resiliency Index) scores which are a measure of six socioeconomic indicators across counties in the United States.
Patterns of Food Insecurity, Food Availability, and Health Outcomes Among Rural and Urban Counties (Final Report)
Author(s): Joel Halverson, Cheryl Brown, Melissa Olfert, Melissa Ahern, Christiaan Abildso
Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Public health
Date: 06 / 2011
Rural counties are disproportionately associated with high food insecurity risk relative to urban counties. Programs and policies may focus on improving food availability and access for rural populations. More research, with multivariate analyses across regions, can shed additional light on the impact of food insecurity on the health of the population, especially for those living in rural areas.
Patterns of Food Insecurity, Food Availability, and Health Outcomes Among Rural and Urban Counties (Policy Brief)
Author(s): Joel Halverson, Cheryl Brown, Melissa Olfert, Melissa Ahern, Christian Abildso
Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Public health
Date: 06 / 2011
This project will examine the characteristics of food security and food availability across the rural-urban continuum. The study will test the hypotheses that food insecurity will differ significantly between rural and urban counties in the US with rural areas experiencing more adverse conditions; and that there will be a significant relationship between food insecurity, food availability and selected adverse health outcomes in non-metropolitan counties in the US.
Pollution Sources and Mortality Rates across Rural-Urban Areas in the United States (Final Report)
Author(s): Michael Hendryx, Evan Fedorko, Joel Halverson
Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Public health
Report Number: Final Report #1
Date: 02 / 2010
Rural counties contain more than 65,000 EPA-recognized point pollution sources. A greater density of water and air pollution sources in rural counties is associated with higher cancer mortality rates adjusting for other risks. Rural areas also experience mortality risks in association with coal mining activity.
Pollution Sources and Mortality Rates across Rural-Urban Areas in the United States (Policy Brief)
Author(s): Michael Hendryx, Evan Fedorko, Joel Halverson
Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Public health
Report Number: Policy Brief #1
Date: 02 / 2010
Rural counties contain more than 65,000 EPA-recognized point pollution sources. A greater density of water and air pollution sources in rural counties is associated with higher cancer mortality rates adjusting for other risks. Rural areas also experience mortality risks in association with coal mining activity.
Rural Socioeconomic Vulnerability and Resiliency Index and Associated Health Outcomes (Policy Brief)
Author(s): Joel A. Halverson, Michael Hendryx
Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Public health
Date: 07 / 2011
Rural areas, especially in the Southeast, Appalachia and parts of the West, have worse VRI (Vulnerability and Resiliency Index) scores which are a measure of six socioeconomic indicators across counties in the United States. Better VRI scores were associated with better health outcomes (lower heart disease, cancer, and stroke death rates) across the rural-urban continuum. These analyses provide evidence to support the development of programs and policies that foster educational development, and economic diversity and vitality, as means of public health improvement, especially in rural areas in selected regions of the country.

Topics Centers Researchers Other Resources Search		Joel Halverson, PhD West Virginia Rural Health Research Center Phone: 304.293.0277 E-mail: jhalverson@hsc.wvu.edu Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, School of Pharmacy West Virginia University One Medical Center Drive Morgantown, WV 26506 Completed Projects (2) Rural Food Security, Food Availability, and Health Outcomes, Lead researcher Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) Topic: Obesity This project will examine the characteristics of food security and food availability across the rural-urban continuum. The study will test the hypotheses that food insecurity will differ significantly between rural and urban counties in the US with rural areas experiencing more adverse conditions; and that there will be a significant relationship between food insecurity, food availability and selected adverse health outcomes in non-metropolitan counties in the US. Rural Socioeconomic Risk and Resiliency Inventory and Associated Health Outcomes, Lead researcher Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Poverty This study will create a national inventory of social and economic risks and resiliencies for every county in the nation, and relate those risks to health outcome data. The study will test whether rural areas with fewer risks and greater resiliencies are related to better health outcomes. Publications (6) A Rural Socioeconomic Risk and Resiliency Inventory and Associated Health Outcomes (Final Report) Author(s): Joel A. Halverson, Michael Hendryx Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Environmental & agricultural health, Public health Date: 03 / 2011 Rural areas, especially in the Southeast, Appalachia and parts of the West, have worse VRI (Vulnerability and Resiliency Index) scores which are a measure of six socioeconomic indicators across counties in the United States. Patterns of Food Insecurity, Food Availability, and Health Outcomes Among Rural and Urban Counties (Final Report) Author(s): Joel Halverson, Cheryl Brown, Melissa Olfert, Melissa Ahern, Christiaan Abildso Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Public health Date: 06 / 2011 Rural counties are disproportionately associated with high food insecurity risk relative to urban counties. Programs and policies may focus on improving food availability and access for rural populations. More research, with multivariate analyses across regions, can shed additional light on the impact of food insecurity on the health of the population, especially for those living in rural areas. Patterns of Food Insecurity, Food Availability, and Health Outcomes Among Rural and Urban Counties (Policy Brief) Author(s): Joel Halverson, Cheryl Brown, Melissa Olfert, Melissa Ahern, Christian Abildso Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Public health Date: 06 / 2011 This project will examine the characteristics of food security and food availability across the rural-urban continuum. The study will test the hypotheses that food insecurity will differ significantly between rural and urban counties in the US with rural areas experiencing more adverse conditions; and that there will be a significant relationship between food insecurity, food availability and selected adverse health outcomes in non-metropolitan counties in the US. Pollution Sources and Mortality Rates across Rural-Urban Areas in the United States (Final Report) Author(s): Michael Hendryx, Evan Fedorko, Joel Halverson Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Public health Report Number: Final Report #1 Date: 02 / 2010 Rural counties contain more than 65,000 EPA-recognized point pollution sources. A greater density of water and air pollution sources in rural counties is associated with higher cancer mortality rates adjusting for other risks. Rural areas also experience mortality risks in association with coal mining activity. Pollution Sources and Mortality Rates across Rural-Urban Areas in the United States (Policy Brief) Author(s): Michael Hendryx, Evan Fedorko, Joel Halverson Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Public health Report Number: Policy Brief #1 Date: 02 / 2010 Rural counties contain more than 65,000 EPA-recognized point pollution sources. A greater density of water and air pollution sources in rural counties is associated with higher cancer mortality rates adjusting for other risks. Rural areas also experience mortality risks in association with coal mining activity. Rural Socioeconomic Vulnerability and Resiliency Index and Associated Health Outcomes (Policy Brief) Author(s): Joel A. Halverson, Michael Hendryx Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center Topics: Environmental & agricultural health, Public health Date: 07 / 2011 Rural areas, especially in the Southeast, Appalachia and parts of the West, have worse VRI (Vulnerability and Resiliency Index) scores which are a measure of six socioeconomic indicators across counties in the United States. Better VRI scores were associated with better health outcomes (lower heart disease, cancer, and stroke death rates) across the rural-urban continuum. These analyses provide evidence to support the development of programs and policies that foster educational development, and economic diversity and vitality, as means of public health improvement, especially in rural areas in selected regions of the country.