Rural health professionals represent a diverse set of individuals seeking to meet the main goals of public health. Their desire to promote health and prevent disease is blocked by many barriers, due to the geographical position of their target population; yet they still persevere to serve their specified communities. Approximately twenty percent of America is rural, and rural counties are more likely to report fair to poor health. This particular population cannot be compared to its urban counterparts due the sheer amount of obstacles health care providers and patients face. Rural Americans are shaped by geography and tradition which creates a combination of factors that create disparities. These disparities include, “Economic factors, …show more content…
The city known for its lucrative peach production reminded her of home, and serves a special role in the history of Georgia, considering it was the last county formed in the state. With an approximate population of 27,695 local residents, Mrs. Ashley serves two cities in the region which include Fort Valley and Byron. This province is home to Fort Valley State University, a member of the University System of Georgia, and other landmark business such as Lanes Packing House. Throughout her 20 plus years in the healthcare field she has become extremely familiar with the needs of the community and is passionate about her work.
The earliest activity of public health focused on state and local health department practices. Charles Chapin developed a survey that analyzed the impact of the state health departments on local ones. The result of this study indicated the impact was poor. From this study, he formed preventative services and rated state agencies on their effectiveness in carrying out these services. Local Health Departments are where the ‘rubber meets the road.’ These agencies are established to carry out the critical public health responsibilities embodied in state laws and local ordinances and to meet other needs and expectations of their communities. With these establishments playing such a pivotal role in the public health realm it is necessary that administrator’s like Mrs. Ashley are working towards rural health
Rural Oklahoma is filled with small farm communities and small towns. Towns where everyone knows everyone and family is of major importance. Pond Creek Oklahoma is one of those communities with a census approximately 856 residents located in Grant County (Pond Creek, Oklahoma, 2015). This town has strong Christian roots and you get the feel of family, football, and love. There is a small variety of businesses and churches but the primary source of income for the community is agricultural. It isn’t uncommon to see tractors making their way down the highway during planting times and combines during harvest. One thing that the town and its citizens lack is access to health care. There are no medical facilities in the town such
This paper will enumerate the vision of the Hudson County health officials for the residents of the county. The paper will further elaborate on the enactment of the county’s community health needs assessment. To this end, the paper will further discuss the strategic planning process proposed by the county for improving the health of their community. The strategy for Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnership (MAPP) will be featured in this paper. The Strategic plan of the Hudson Health Care Officials as depicted by this paper included data collection and analysis; the Identification and prioritization of critical public health issues within the Hudson County; Identification of resources to improve issues; and the enactment of plans to improve the health issues identified within the county. The paper will also elaborate on the ability of the county to fulfill the task of improving the critical health issues identified through the MAPP processes. Finally, an inferred conclusion will be made based on my research into the proposed 2007 Hudson County’s community health improvement plan.
In Hollowing Out the Middle by Carr and Kefalas, the discussion regarding the decline of rural America is brought to the forefront. This decline is not usually discussed due to the inane ability of society to deem it relevant; the decrease in rural communities is causing a devastating effect on the socioeconomic stability of America. Carr and Kefalas move to a small, rural community in eastern Iowa they name Ellis, to evaluate the cause of this decline and attempt to create a solution. Through residency and interaction with the community as well as present and past high school graduates, they evaluate the reasons why youth are leaving rural communities at such a high rate. They determined youth fall into five categories growing up in small towns: stayers, seekers, achievers, boomerangs, and returners. The different categories these individuals fall into are influenced by socioeconomic statuses and are characteristic of segregation, deviance, stereotyping, and social stratification.
how things work, and that what goes around comes around. This ties directly with the down-to- earth perspective that rural Kansas offers.
The article discusses the changes in the rural West that caused it to move from agricultural to a more urbanized domain and how these changes effected the socio-economic and ecological landscape of the West.
National equitable access to healthcare is an ongoing dilemma. The problem is exacerbated in Appalachia by the large population of individuals that are underserved due to geographic isolation, lack of public transportation, lack of physicians, and a shortages of medical facilities (Network, 2009). Statistically, 39% of Appalachian counties are lacking the minimum number of primary care providers compared to non- Appalachian counties that lack 30% (HRSA, 2007). 19% of Appalachian counties are lacking the minimum number of dentists compared to the 16% of non- Appalachian communities (HRSA, 2007). Furthermore, an overwhelming 63% of Appalachian counties are lacking the minimum number of mental health providers, versus 53% of non- Appalachian
Rural America at the end of 19th century was characterized by depending on the earther for the crops, going into debt trying to survive, as well as unrest against monopolies on transportation, land, and money. On the other hand, the rural America was beautiful and full of small, good things. I believe that Hamlin Garland shows the best example of the rural America in his early works. As he visited Dakota territory after living in Boston, he realizes the futility and hardship of pioneer life. He decided to depict the stories of people struggling against nature (such as weather or plagues) and greedy speculators on the farms as they try to make a living through very hard work. Garland also showed another aspect of the rural life in America –
The long-term health improvement of the rural population through access to services, clinics, hospitals and doctors works as a reciprocal relationship with the economic health of the community (Rural Assistance Center, 2015). All rural communities are unique, and some have more access to health care services than others. When health services and professionals are available in a rural area, it can truly begin a process of expanding economic growth and development. The creation of jobs in the healthcare field, or in a business that supports the healthcare industry, improves the local economy (Rural Assistance Center, 2015). “Rural hospitals are often one of the largest employers in their community. They offer some of the best-paying jobs available in rural areas, bringing professionals to live and spend money in the community” (Rural Assistance Center, 2015). The creation of jobs within industries that support healthcare also thrive.
As Capitman et al. (n.d.) illustrates with cancer disparities in racial/ethnic groups, induvial and cultural factors influence how individuals participate in disease prevention and self-care activities. Other factors include availability of health care professionals, mal-distribution of health care resources, and accessibility to social services (Capitman et al. n.d.). Looking at social and physical environments in general can tell you a lot about how big a difference we see in health disparities in both urban and rural areas. As noted by Unite for Sight, urban environments tend to be more highly diverse socioeconomic status with more exposure to health related risk (chronic diseases) while rural dwellers are more significantly poorer and poor health behaviors (smoking etc.). Furthermore, rural areas have a higher proportion of uninsured and individually insured residents with limited access to health care facilities. In urban areas even if with high prevalence of individuals without health insurance or citizenship they deal with a system where individuals have access to preventive and routine health care while the other portion of the populations utilize “safety-net” emergency room care (as cited Unite for Sight n.d.). In general, we see in urban and rural health that there is a difference between health care access, usage, geographic distribution of providers and
Rural communities are very prevalent among the United States. The rural populations have higher rates of poorer health compared to urban populations. According to the National Rural Health Association, rural areas have fewer physicians and specialists available to care for them. Rural adults also face barriers due to distance and lack of transportation (Bennett, Lopes, Spencer, & Hecke, 2013). Disparities between rural and urban areas show that rural residents have lower health status overall. Specifically, rural women have fewer accesses to health care than women of urban areas, which have lead to worse health outcomes. Many rural areas across the United States lack women’s health providers, primary and specialty care, screening services, prenatal care, and have more complications accompanied with pregnancy. These areas also have higher incidences of breast and cervical cancer than of urban areas. (The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2014). “More than 28 million women 18 and older live in Rural or Frontier America who need access to health care services” (Bennett et al., 2013). Access issues affect almost all of these women. These differences in quality of life are closely related to poorer health outcomes.
Health disparities are many and affect a great part of our population. We must deal with these issues in order to assure proper medical treatment and care for our population as a whole. “A health disparity is defined as a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage” (Health People 2020). My focus of this paper will be on rural women and their increased prevalence of heart disease. How does living in a rural area affect women’s health related to cardiovascular disease and what is the APN role? I will discuss explanations for the disparity. I will explore the APN role and how it improves health outcomes. I will then take into account the legislative process and the importance of policies in helping to improve women’s health. “Rural America represents 75% of the national land- mass and is home to 22.8% of U.S. women aged 18 years and older” (Committee Opinion Number 586. February 2014. Health Disparities in Rural Woman, 2014). Cardiovascular disease is a chronic disease and requires interventions in order to improve patient’s quality of life and ability to survive the disease. “Death rates from ischemic heart disease in rural women exceed that for all U.S. women” (Committee Opinion Number 586. February 2014. Health Disparities in Rural Woman, 2014). This topic is of interest to
America’s society is known as the great melting pot; however it is not race that is keeping one sector of society on the outside. Rural America lives on a separate ideology when it comes to economics and health care. One in five people live in a rural community. (Alexia cite) “The U.S. Census defines rural as “open country” or towns with fewer than 2,500 inhabitants.” ("2010 Urban and Rural Classification - Geography - U.S. Census Bureau," n.d.) A review of the research conducted within the United States suggests that rural populations endure greater health disparities than their urban counter parts. “The term
The reason could be that there are many patients to handle due to the amount of doctors, and the doctors know that they need more aid; but due to the population or small pay, there are a few doctors interested in helping. The goal of this performance-based assessment is to emphasize the significant factors of a health care in a rural setting with limited access to doctors and medicine. The setting will focus on rural communities of Hawaii because “On the neighbor islands, especially for the Big Island and West Hawaii, the No. 1 issue is access to health care”(E). Through local and nation resources, factors include economic, social, education, cultural and language differences, transportation, and recognition are discussed regarding health care with limited access to medicine or doctors.
People in rural areas experience better health than those in urban areas. Compare and contrast the social constructs of these populations.
Researchers Befort, Nazir and Perri (2012) identify the importance of studying the differences among urban and rural communities across the United States in regards to adulthood obesity. To start, it is known that rural areas of the country are prone to have a greater number of individuals living with a chronic disease as well as higher occurrence of all-cause mortality. These findings from the 1997-1998 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) are the based off of individual information. In turn, the current study is of utmost importance due to it being the first objective study using an individual’s BMI category as it relates to obesity. Furthermore, the study examines variations of behaviors amongst those surveyed living in rural and urban areas. Certain behaviors may be independent factors of obesity that help explain the differences between the two populations.