Health Equity Toolkit for Rural and Remote Areas

Project Description

Public health organizations are under increasing pressure to address health equity more intentionally and effectively. While many tools exist to support this work, few are tailored for rural, remote, or frontier communities—places that often face chronic underfunding, sparse data, and unique geographic and cultural contexts.

These challenges create a gap: rural leaders are expected to build equitable public health systems but are rarely equipped with the tools designed for their realities. At the same time, smaller communities often have something powerful—strong social networks and deep-rooted relationships that can accelerate change when tapped effectively.

To meet this need, Omni partnered with Pitkin County Public Health (serving Aspen, CO) and Silver Thread Public Health District (serving Creede and Lake City, CO) to develop a Health Equity Toolkit for Rural and Remote Areas. This work was made possible through generous funding from the Telligen Community Initiative.

A Partner-Centered Design Approach

Our collaboration was grounded in a partner-led, iterative design process. Community voices were central—Pitkin and Silver Thread shaped the direction, tested materials, and guided revisions as subject-matter experts in their own contexts. Together, we defined a shared vision:

• A toolkit that builds long-term capacity on a limited budget
• A flexible learning curriculum adaptable to each community’s assets
• A common foundation for understanding and applying health equity principles

Adaptive Development and Testing

Over the course of a year, the toolkit evolved through continuous input. We piloted materials with both internal health department staff and community partners, refining them in real time based on how people actually used them. This process surfaced new ideas, uncovered gaps, and ensured relevance for rural and remote settings.

What emerged was not just a product, but a platform: a curriculum grounded in real-world use, shaped by lived experience, and designed for continued growth.

The Final Product

The Health Equity Toolkit for Rural and Remote Areas offers practical, adaptable resources for local health departments to grow their internal capacity for equity work. It includes concrete action steps, learning modules, and community-driven strategies that can be integrated over time.

Crucially, the toolkit isn’t a one-and-done resource—it’s a springboard. It supports communities in sustaining their momentum, building on their strengths, and deepening their equity practice long after the final module is complete.

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