Residents in 70 rural Iowa communities are being asked to fill out surveys to help state and federal officials better respond to COVID-19. Researchers at Iowa State University https://www.iastate.edu and the University of Iowa https://uiowa.edu received a $200,000 rapid response grant from the National Science Foundation https://www.nsf.gov to conduct the survey.
The funding is going to use the information obtained to document the health, socioeconomic, and emotional impacts of COVID-19 in Iowa’s small towns. David Peters, Associate Professor of Sociology at Iowa State said, “The survey data can help tailor pandemic response in rural communities where strategies fashioned for urban regions many not be as effective.”
According to Professor Peters, “Policies enacted to fight the spread of the coronavirus in relatively dense urban areas may not work in rural areas. These differences make it imperative to gather data to inform policies in rural America. The data will offer insight into whether healthcare infrastructure and internet access are adequate to withstand the challenges of the pandemic among dispersed populations.”
Professor Peters will also work with University of Iowa professors in sociology and public health. In addition, an advisory panel composed of representatives from local governments, public health organizations, and other relevant community and business organizations will help guide the project.
The researchers will select survey participants at random over the next two to three months and get the information to policymakers at all levels of government so they can make decisions to target programs to the specific needs of rural people.