2024/04/19 by Rachel Hogg‐Graham, Kelsey Gatton, Hogg-Graham, Rachel +5
Health Professions · Medicine · #Chronic Disease Management Strategies #FOS: Health sciences #Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations #Public Health Policies and Education
paper · doi:10.13023/jah.0502.03
openalex publication_date 2024/04/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Introduction: Addressing complex health and social needs requires cross-sector collaboration to deliver medical, social, and population health services at the community level. Capacity in community health and social services networks may be constrained in regions like Appalachia due to the combined effects of rurality and persistently poor health and social outcomes. One way that cross-sector networks serving low-resource communities can expand their capacity is by engaging partners, like health insurers, who can leverage resources from outside the local area. Purpose: This study examines insurer connectivity in cross-sector networks across Kentucky's geographic regions and the association between connectivity and the probability of an individual experiencing a preventable hospitalization. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used that linked data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems (NALSYS) with 2018 patient-level Kentucky hospital discharge data to examine the association between insurer connectivity in community networks and preventable hospitalizations across urban, rural non-Appalachian, and Appalachian regions. Results: < 0.01). Implications: Findings suggest insurer connectivity in cross-sector community health and social services networks has the potential to strengthen network capacity to address preventable hospitalizations and improve health outcomes and well-being for the people of Appalachia.