Reading List for Healthcare in Appalachia
Compiled by Dr. Theresa L. Burriss, Chair of Appalachian Studies at Radford University
Please note the sources cited below include scholarly nonfiction sources, as well as novels, short
stories, and poetry.
Appalachian Regional Commission. An Analysis of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Disparities & Access to Treatment Services in the Appalachian Region. August 2008.
Accessed 19 May 2011
<http://www.arc.gov/research/researchreportsdetails.asp?REPORT_ID=71>
Awiakta, Marilou. Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mother’s Wisdom. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 1993.
Bauer, William M., and Bruce Growick. “Rehabilitation Counseling in Appalachian America.”
Journal of Rehabilitation. (July/Aug./Sept. 2003) 69.3: 18-24.
Behringer, Bruce, and Koyamangalath Krishnan. “Understanding the Role of Religion in Cancer
Care in Appalachia.” Southern Medical Journal. (April 2011) 104.4: 295-296.
Byer, Kathryn Stripling. Black Shawl: Poems. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State UP, 1998.
- - -. Wildwood Flower: Poems. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State UP, 1992.
Dykeman, Wilma. The Tall Woman. Newport, TN: Wakestone Books, 1962. (novel)
- - -. Return the Innocent Earth. Newport, TN: Wakestone Books, 1973. (novel)
Elnicki, D. Michael, Douglas K. Morris, and William T. Shockcor. “Patient-Perceived Barriers
to Preventative Health Care Among Indigent, Rural Appalachian Patients.” Archives of
Internal Medicine. (Feb. 1995) 155.4: 421-424.
Fisher, Diane Gilliam. Kettle Bottom (poems). Florence, MA: Perugia P, 2004.
Fisher, Stephen L. Ed. Fighting Back in Appalachia: Traditions of Resistance and Change.
Philadelphia, PA: Temple UP, 1993.
Giardina, Denise. Storming Heaven: A Novel. New York, NY: Fawcett Books, 1987.
- - -. The Unquiet Earth. New York, NY: Norton, 1992.
Hague, Richard. Alive in Hard Country: Poems. Huron, OH: Bottom Dog P, 2003.
Hayes, Patricia A. “Home Is Where Their Health Is: Rethinking Perspectives of Informal and
Formal Care by Older Rural Appalachian Women Who Live Alone.” Qualitative Health
Research. (Feb. 2006) 16.2: 282-297.
Huttlinger, Kathleen, Jennifer Schaller-Ayers, and Tony Lawson. “Health Care in Appalachia: A
Population-Based Approach.” Public Health Nursing. (March/April 2004) 21.2: 103-110.
Jackson, Dot. Refuge: A Novel. Charlotte, NC: Novello P, 2006.
Keefe, Susan. Ed. Appalachian Cultural Competency: A Guide for Medical, Mental Health, and
Social Service Professionals. Knoxville, TN: U of Tennessee P, 2005. (Disclaimer: some
of the chapters in this work are much better than others.)
Macavoy, Suzanne, and Doris Troth Lippman. “Teaching Culturally Competent Care: Nursing
Students Experience Rural Appalachia.” Journal of Transcultural Nursing. (July 2001)
12: 221-227.
Marion, Jeff Daniel Marion. Father (poems). Nicholasville, KY: Wind, 2009.
Marion, Linda Parsons. Bound: Poems. Nicholasville, KY: Wind, 2011.
McNeill, Louise. Hill Daughter: New & Selected Poems. Pittsburg, PA: U of Pittsburg P, 1991.
Miller, Jim Wayne. The Brier Poems. Frankfort, KY: Gnomon P, 1997.
Minick, Jim. Burning Heaven: Poems. Nicholasville, KY: Wind, 2008.
Newell-Withrow, Cora. “Heath Protecting and Health Promoting Behaviors of African
Americans Living in Appalachia.” Public Health Nursing. (Sept./Oct. 2000) 17.5: 392397.
Porter, Robert A., John A. Peters, and Hilda R. Heady. “Using Community Development for
Prevention in Appalachia.” Social Work. (July 1982): 302-307.
Rash, Ron. One Foot in Eden: A Novel. New York, NY: Picador, 2002.
- - -. Saints at the River: A Novel. New York, NY: Picador, 2004.
- - -. Waking (poems). Spartanburg, SC: Hub City P, 2011.
Riddle, Rita. All There Is To Keep: Poems. Oak Ridge, TN: Iris P, 2008.
Rosswurm, Mary Ann, Debra M. Dent, Cynthia Armstrong-Persily, Paula Woodburn, and
Barbara Davis. “Illness Experiences and Health Recovery Behaviors of Patients in
Southern Appalachia.” Western Journal of Nursing Research. (1996) 18.4: 441-459.
Sarno Owens, Julie, Lauren Richerson, Caroline E. Murphy, Anna Jageleweski, and Laura Rossi.
“The Parent Perspective: Informing the Cultural Sensitivity of Parenting Programs in
Rural Communities.” Child Youth Forum. (2007) 36: 179-194.
Slusher, Ida L., Cora Withrow-Fletcher, and Mary Hauser-Whitaker. “Appalachian Women:
Health Beliefs, Self-Care, and Basic Conditioning Factors.” Journal of Cultural
Diversity. (Fall 2010) 17.3: 84-89.
Smith. Laureen H. “Piloting the Use of Teen Mentors to Promote a Healthy Diet and Physical
Activity Among Children in Appalachia.” Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing.
(2011) 16: 16-26.
Still, James. River of Earth: A Novel. Lexington, KY: UP of Kentucky, 1940/1978.
Thornton, Gwendolyn B., and Krystal Deitz-Allyn. “Substance Abuse, Unemployment
Problems, and the Disparities in Mental Health Services in the Appalachian Southwest
Region.” Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. (Nov. 2010) 20.7: 939951.
Tripp-Reimer, Toni. “Barriers to Health Care: Variations in Interpretation of Appalachian Client
Behavior by Appalachian and non-Appalachian Health Professionals.” Western Journal
of Nursing Research. (1982) 4.2: 179-191.
Vanderpool, Robin C., and Bin Huang. “Cancer Risk Perceptions, Beliefs, and Physician
Avoidance in Appalachia: Results from the 2008 HINTS Survey.” Journal of Health
Communication. (Sept. 2010) 15: 78-91.
Vanderpool, Robin C., Bin Huang, and Brent Shelton. “Seeking Cancer Information: An
Appalachian Perspective.” Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice. (Fall
2007) 2.1: 79-100.
Walker, Frank X. Affrilachia: Poems. Lexington, KY: Old Cove P, 2000.
Welch, Wendy. Ed. Public Health in Appalachia: Essays from the Clinic and the Field. W.
Jefferson, NC: McFarland P, 2014.
Wilkinson, Crystal. Blackberries, Blackberries (short stories). London, England: Toby, 2000.
- - -. Water Street (short stories). London, England: Toby, 2002.
Woods, Daniel. “Social Well-Being in the Appalachian Coalfields: A Dissertation in Rural
Sociology and Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and the Environment.” The
Pennsylvania State University Graduate School/College of Agricultural Sciences. May
2010.
Wu, Tiejian, Fred Tudiver, Jim L. Wilson, and Jose Velasco. “Child Overweight Interventions in
Rural Primary Care Practice: A Survey of Primary Care Providers in Southern
Appalachia.” Southern Medical Journal. (Nov. 2007) 100.11: 1099-1104.