College of Public Health and Human Sciences

Our objectives were to review the Grange as a rural community organization with the potential to increase the reach of public health efforts. We examined seven years of Grange member newsletters and publications for content pieces that reflected a public health focus and organized our findings according to the Healthy People 2020 five determinant areas within the Social Determinants of Health. Results: We found ample evidence of overlap between the goal and objectives of public health and those of the Grange. The Grange currently operates programs of education or participation in all five of the determinant areas: (1) Health and Health Care Access; (2) Social and Community Context; (3) Education; (4) Economic Stability; and (5) the Neighborhood and the Built Environment. The Grange is a grass roots rural organization that is uniquely positioned to offer a rich and nuanced partnership with public health agencies. The Grange has been contributing towards rural health for over 150 years, but despite this predisposition to the mission of public health, the Grange remains an underused community resource capable of improving rural health and addressing a variety of rural public health issues.