Health Care For Rural Areas

Growing up on a farm in rural South Dakota, one learns to go without. Country living often entails going without the newest clothes, technology, or even modern necessities. Unfortunately, it can also include the postponement of medical intervention when health begins to fail. The impact rural health clinics have on alleviating this maldistribution is immense.

One area where access to care is a problem is in the rural communities. Healthcare professionals including physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses all affect the quality and cost of care (Derksen, & Whelan, 2009). Going forward importance needs to be placed on using recourses more efficiently and effectively; these resources include but are not limited to tests, prescriptions,

Transportation is one of the largest barriers to health care access in rural communities. Fortunately, many interventions

So some people don’t come in for preventative check-ups or unless they absolutely need to, which can turn minor health issues into more severe problems that require extensive treatment? We try to make people aware of self-pay rates and any potential discounts for routine things like flu shots Persons having a usual source of care are more likely to obtain preventive, primary, and specialty care services. Certainly, insurance coverage must be part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce inequities in health care. Asian Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and African Americans make up 52% of the uninsured (under-served) in the USA. Beyond insurance, other financial constraints, limited availability of providers in some locales, long waits for appointments, and limited culturally appropriate services result in vulnerable groups in rural and urban settings having a reduced level of

‘Some counties don't have certain types of doctors” (Leonard 2). If an individual only has one insurer that supports that area, that insurer may not cover that doctor or hospital in that area, which can result to that individual driving far out of their area, just so they can see a doctor or get their medical treatment for a reasonable price. Individuals are also being limited with options because their insurers may see them as costly, and they could force the individual to go to under resourced hospitals (Goodnough 3). This shows that even if an individual does not live in a rural area and has plenty of options to choose from, they can still be limited in location because their medical treatment can be seen as too expensive, and the insurance company has to figure out a way to save money.

Healthcare access and delivery in rural area has been challenging not only within the U.S., but also in many developed countries. Many issues seem to be common to this maldistribution of physicians and other HCPs. According to Weinhold and Gurtner1, ” [c]ommunities have become progressively disempowered by the continuous centralization of services and the dismantling of infrastructure.” Rural populations tend to be at

Within the United States some populations groups face greater challenges then the general public with being able to access needed health care services in a timely fashion. These populations are at a greater risk for poor physical, psychological, and social health. The correct term would be underserved populations or medically disadvantaged. They are at a disadvantaged for many reason such as socioeconomic status, health, and geographic conditions. Within these groups are the racial and ethnic minorities, uninsured children, women, rural area residents, mentally ill, chronic illness and the disabled. These groups experience greater barriers in access to care, financing of care, and cultural acceptance. Addressing these

It is important to understand determinants such as poverty, lack in health care access, exposure to disease early in life, social positions, gender, race/ethnicity will all effect communities who receive health inequalities. Organizations such as WHO, National Institute of Health (NIH), and Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been working to provide the best quality of care for urban/rural populations. An adjustment in policies is needed to protect access to health, education, and employment for disadvantaged populations. Even though governments have made policies to provide health to all, we can see urban/rural populations are in a lack of quality of care. Health needs to be a right for all, and not based on whether in urban area or socioeconomic status they are in. Individuals’ irrespective of socioeconomic class or race should have the same rights and

The Causes of Disparities in Rural Healthcare There are many challenges facing health care for patients in rural areas that differ from patients that live in urban areas. Rural Americans has many factors that are causing disparities in health care unlike patients that live in urban area. Some of the major factors are economic, cultural, social differences, and the lack of jobs. The fact that these patient chose to live in a rural area shouldn’t cause them to have an unhealthy life.

The North Eastern Local Health Integration Network is responsible for integration amongst different health care establishments and providers within towns such as Sudbury, Timmins, North Bay and a few more. These towns are relatively rural communities and an reoccurring issue in rural communities is not having the same opportunities as those living in urban communities or in the city. Living in rural communities, limits the access that residents have to the care they need because of a lack of these care facilities and providers and it also limits the quality of care that these residents can receive because of a lack of resources and specialists. Unlike in Toronto and surrounding towns, many people have access to primary care, specialists, rehabilitation and more. North eastern LHIN and supporting organizations such as Health Science North and Rural Health pub work to implement integration initiatives to help increase the access to quality health care services to residents of rural communities in northeastern Ontario. One of the programs

The “What’s Different about Rural Health Care?” (2010), website identified factors contributing to the disparities in health care, “rural Americans face a unique combination of factors that create disparities in health care not found in urban areas. Economic factors, cultural and social differences, educational shortcomings, lack of recognition by legislators and the sheer isolation of living in remote rural areas all conspire to impede rural Americans in their struggle to lead normal, healthy lives.” These disparities increase the risk of mortality in the rural

Disparities in access to health services affect people and lead to unmet health needs, preventive medical services, and poor health. Low-income people are less able to afford the out-of-pocket costs of care, even if they have health insurance coverage. Public health insurance programs have expanded coverage for the poor and not enough to close the disparity gap. In order to improve health care services, we must make sure that the District 17 communities have usual and ongoing source of care as people with a usual source of care have better health outcomes. District Council 17 needs increased access to quality care regardless of their ability to pay, insurance status, or other potential barriers to

The social issue that I am addressing is that certain populations in the United States are not able to receive the treatment they need. This has a lot to do with accessibility and affordability. “…residents of metropolitan areas have better geographic access to physicians.” (Newhouse) We are seeing an uneven distribution of available physicians in rural and urban areas. There is an abundance of doctors in the urban areas, but they aren’t branching out to the rural areas. This is known as a paradox of the United States health system: “shortage amid surplus”. (COGME)

Rural Americans face an exclusive combination of issues that create disparities in health care that are not found in urban areas. Many complications met by healthcare providers and patients in rural arears are massively different than those located in urban areas. Financial factors, cultural and social variances, educational deficiencies, lack of acknowledgement by delegates and the absolute isolation of living in remote rural areas all combined to hinder rural Americans in their struggle to lead a normal, healthy life. Rural hospitals located in rural areas faces many disadvantages, such as; minimum resources, shortcoming or unprepared professionals, and financial disparities. Although many of these challenges could be solved

Access to health care refers to the individual’s ability to obtain and use needed services (Ellis & Hartley, 2008). Access to health care affects a multitude of people. Uninsured, underinsured, elderly, lower socioeconomic class, minorities, and people that live in remote areas are at the highest risk for lack of access to health care. There are also economical and political roles that complicate access to health care. Access to health care is a multi-faceted concept involving geographic, economics, or sociocultural issues. With my extensive research on access to health care, I hope to provide influences regarding; who is affected by lack of access, geographic, economic, sociocultural access, and