The Foundation, Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), are launching a new “bright spots” health research project. The goal is to learn about factors that support a culture of health in Appalachian communities and to determine if that knowledge can be translated into actions that address health disparities between Appalachia and the nation as a whole. The project, “Creating a Culture of Health in Appalachia: Disparities and Bright Spots,” will run through the end of 2017.

The project will identify Appalachian areas, or “bright spots,” where health outcomes are better than would be expected based on unemployment and poverty rates and other community factors. Experts will then seek to determine the factors that help cause health outcomes in specific communities to be better than expected. The project will also seek to determine why health outcomes in some communities are not as good as would be expected, based on a series of community data points.