Appalachian Health: Culture, Challenges, and Capacity, published May, 2022, is providing a blueprint for improving quality of life around the country.
Appalachia spans 13 states and 400 counties. The book points to the health concerns – and the social determinants of health that drive them – are the same as those around the US, they are simply more concentrated in Appalachia.
Dr. Randy Wykoff, one of the book’s two editors, points out that how the solutions found in Appalachia can be a roadmap for the rest of the country.
In Appalachia, health outcomes now are reflecting several cycles of generational and intergenerational patterns. The key, Dr. Wykoff says, is recognizing that there is no one solution, but getting more health providers into the community is one piece, but also economic development, education, and jobs.
