Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2021 OA PDF

Rural Health and Contextualizing Data

Erin Brock Carlson West Virginia University ; Catherine Gouge West Virginia University

Abstract

With significantly higher rates of comorbidities and limited access to health care, some Appalachian rural communities face magnified health challenges due to COVID-19. This article looks at one example of how data visualizations might draw attention to health care realities in rural communities and yet render invisible the realities of the most vulnerable community members. The authors urge technical and professional communicators to contextualize data-driven accounts of public health crises in order to call attention to the needs of rural communities and support community members who are multiply marginalized and thus especially vulnerable.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2021-01-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651920958502
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Open Access
OA PDF Bronze
Topics
empirical research
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (8)

  1. Kenzie et al. (2025)
    Don’t Read the Comments: Discourse About COVID-19 Vaccines in a State Health De…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Lambrecht (2025)
    Risk Revisited: The Role of Technical Communication in Negotiating Barriers to …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Spinuzzi et al. (2025)
    “The City Residents Do Not Get Involved”: Understanding Barriers to Community P…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Hartzog (2025)
    ‘Flatten the curve’: rhetorical data visualizations of a global pandemic
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Liddle (2024)
    Commemoration and Context: The Death Counter Graphics of COVID-19
    Communication Design Quarterly
Show all 8 →
  1. Winkle (2024)
    Between the Lines: Visual Euphemism in Technical and Professional Communication…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  2. Swacha (2023)
    The Coping with COVID Project: Participatory Public Health Communication
    Communication Design Quarterly
  3. Gouge et al. (2022)
    Building Toward More Just Data Practices
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

References (11) · 2 in this index

  1. Chartis Center for Rural Health. (2020). The rural health safety net under pressure: Rural hospital vulnerabi…
  2. County COVID-19 cases & planning report: Marion County, WV [Infographic]. (2020). https…
  3. County COVID-19 cases & planning report: Monongalia County, WV [Infographic]. (2020). h…
  4. Dolmage J. (2005). Disability studies pedagogy, usability and universal design. Disability Studies Quarterly,…
     ↗
  5. Jones (2016)
    The Technical Communicator as Advocate: Integrating a Social Justice Approach i…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 11 →
  1. 10.7330/9781607327585.c010
     ↗
  2. Kelman B. (2020, April 4). Cell phone tracking data shows rural residents not staying home. The Daily Herald.…
  3. Resources for WV communities . (n.d.). http://wvhub.org/coronavirus-covid-19-wv-communi…
  4. Sackey (2020)
    One-Size-Fits-None: A Heuristic for Proactive Value Sensitive Environmental Design
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Severino J. (2020, May 2). COVID-19 tore through a Black Baptist church community in WV. Nobody said a word a…
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CrossRef global citation count: 15 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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