Rural health is often defined narrowly as healthcare delivery in non-metropolitan areas. Federal agencies such as the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) use detailed classifications including county status, RUCA codes, and terrain factors, to determine rural eligibility for funding (Health Resources and Services Administration [HRSA], 2025). National data from the Rural Health Information Hub continue to demonstrate persistent disparities in access to care, preventive services, and health outcomes across rural communities (Rural Health Information Hub [RHIhub], 2025). Our work argues that rural health is not only a matter of infrastructure or geography—it is also shaped by language, narratives, trust, and political and cultural identity.
I collaborated with Dr. Melissa Stone (Appalachian State University) on an edited collection examining rural health and rhetorical practices, including health literacy, political ideology, public trust, and rural health needs. Together, we developed an in-progress Rural Health Rhetorics framework designed for scholars and practitioners in Technical and Professional Communication (TPC) and Rhetoric of Health and Medicine (RHM).
The special issue on rural health and rhetoric was published in Rhetoric of Health and Medicine journal in Summer 2025. The issue brings together interdisciplinary scholars examining rural health communication, infrastructure, access, and equity, and it establishes rural health rhetorics as an emerging and necessary area within the field.
Ongoing Work
The start to the rural health rhetorics framework builds on traditions of community-based participatory research (CBPR), which emphasize deep integration of community members in research design and implementation (Mocarski et al., 2020). Rather than approaching rural communities through a deficit model, we examine how communication practices circulate within communities, how ideology shapes health decision-making, and how rhetorically informed interventions can foster more equitable and sustainable health systems.
Building on previous and current work, I am now extending research into additional areas in rural Virginia, including:
- The development of scalable rural health communication frameworks for TPC researchers
- Applied community partnerships across Virginia through a Rural Health Rhetorics initiative
- Graduate mentorship pipelines focused on rural health research
- Public-facing scholarship that engages policymakers, providers, and rural communities
This first field-work phase moves to ask definitional questions of rurality from community members which highlight community efficacy while paying attention to community needs. These moves from theory-building to implementation—translating rhetorical insights into actionable tools that strengthen trust, improve communication, and expand equitable access to care in rural regions. Through this research agenda, rural health becomes central to understanding how communication shapes care, survival, and justice in geographically and politically complex spaces.
I am currently working with to examine rural health and rhetorical practices such as health literacy, political ideology, and rural health needs. We are currently developing a rural health framework for technical and professional communication (TPC) researchers. The special issue on rural health and rhetoric is slated to appear in the Spring or Summer 2025.
Justiss Wilder Burry 