Transportation barrier to access health care services in rural population Transportation is one of critical social determinants of health and the availability of convenient transportation impacts individuals’ ability to access quality healthcare (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 2011). One of the major challenges that rural Canadians face is the lack or limited of public transportation which results in delaying access to health-care services (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 2011). Canadians who reside in rural communities or small towns generally have to travel long distance to get the health care they need. Transportation is a significant issue for access to health care services, particularly in rural areas where travel distances are required and access to substitute means such as public transit or taxi services is limited or lack (Rural Assistance Center, 2015). Transportation services play an essential role in assisting residents in rural communities, particularly those who are vulnerable and most in need of this assistance to maintain their health and well-being. The negative impacts of limited or lack transportation services on rural population include rescheduled or missed appointments, delayed care and missed or delayed medication use (Syed, Gerber & Sharp, 2013). Mattson (2010) claimed that the delay in medical appointment for rural clients not only resulted in missing the care at the time they most need it, but it also can be more serious and costly
Another threat is the current state of rural hospitals nationwide. According to the case study, about 25% of Americans live in rural areas and only about 10% of physicians actually practice in rural areas. There is a 15% gap in the ratio of rural citizens to available practicing physicians. This is a threat to ELH’s need to attract and hire more physicians. In relation to rural hospitals, citizens have longer drive times to their medical facilities. This causes them to delay routine visits which subsequently exacerbates
Transportation is one of the largest barriers to health care access in rural communities. Fortunately, many interventions
There are two principal conditions leading to physician shortages in rural communities according to Wright and colleagues. They are “demand-deficient”, meaning they have insufficient populations and resources to support a physician practice, they are “ambiance-challenged,” meaning they are isolated, lack quality services and amenities, and/or are in geographically unattractive settings, or a combination of the two sets of conditions. Inner-city physician shortages are a more recently recognized issue. They are affected by the same conditions, though the specifics are different (Wright, Andrilla, and Hart 2001).
Americans living in rural areas have found out that getting access to quality health care is not only hard to obtain but very expensive. People who live in rural areas have the highest rates diseases that are chronic, poverty is higher, an having no insurance, and there are limitations to having access to primary care physicians to millions of rural Americans. Since the economy is going through a downturn, this has the potential to cause a rise in a number of access and health issues that are already causing problems in communities in rural areas.(HealthReform.Gov., 2012). This is where the new health care tax or the Patient Protection and Affordable Act of 2010 will play one of its greatest roles which is its main goal which is to allow coverage to all residents of the United States and thereby improving the delivery of needed health care to rural parts of America. (Becker & Dunn, 2012).
Geographic maldistribution has creates barriers of care to people living in rural areas. Although there is an oversupply of physician specialists in many of the urban healthcare areas around the world, while the inner cities and rural community are struggling to attract healthcare physician professional to provide high quality care to the local population. “The supply of specialties has increased more than 100% over the last 20 years, while supply of generalists has increased only 18%” (Niles,2014). Any shortage of health workers can prevent good access to health services and is a barrier to universal coverage. The issue of the matter is that maldistribution of health workers between urban and rural is consider to be virtual concern around
Significant health disparities between rural and urban populations have been a major concern in the United States. One prominent factor contributing to the disparities is lack of access to quality care in rural areas which is closely associated with challenges faced by rural health care providers (National Rural Health Association, 2007). Rural hospitals are the key health care provider in rural areas, offering essential health care services to nearly 54 million people (American Hospital Association, 2006). They face a series of challenges such as workforce shortages, rise in health care costs, difficulty in finding access to capital, difficulty in
‘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.
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,
Your discussion is very informative and you brought up a lot of valuable information about the challenges in rural areas and American Indians. I agree, lack of transportation prevents the people from seeking medical help. The residents in rural areas lack the resources (transportation, healthcare services and workers) to comply in taking care of their health. Poverty and low education level are also widespread, which can make a huge impact on their health. Instead of eating nutritious foods, they might end up buying cheaper foods that are not as healthy. The government should focus in helping the American Indians and minimize the healthcare gaps. According to Harkness and DeMarcus (2016, p. 360), “federal, state, and local public officials
As mentioned previously, another factor that may contribute to disparities in care is the choice of location for a practice. Many patients, particularly those who are economically disadvantaged, may have difficulty commuting to a practice that is far from their community, especially if it is outside of the area serviced by public transportation. Furthermore, even if they can make it to the practice, they may be placing themselves at an even further economic
People living in rural areas are experiencing highly limited excess to health care facilities either because they are not aware of the disease symptoms as a
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
Examples of this would be not having access to a vehicle or public transportation if the nearest hospital is located farther away from the home, no cellular device to remind them of important appointment dates and other find it very difficult to wait in long lines to receive services that are offered to them.
A challenge that many rural communities are dealing with is the lack of primary care physicians, specialist, understaffed hospitals, and transportation. “Only about ten percent of physicians practice in rural America despite the fact that nearly one-fourth of the population lives in these areas” (National Rural Health Association [NHRA], n.d., para. 2). Although, there are programs designed to improve patients access to hospitals and physicians in rural areas, provider access for these patients remains a barrier. Technology can bridge some of the gaps of care for these patients and it can be beneficial in many ways. With enhanced technology, primary care physicians and patients will be able to have support, access to quality care, improvement in self-management skills, which ultimately, will improve a patient’s health. To assist physicians with delivery of optimal care and for patients to be able to go to scheduled wellness visits with physicians, a new approach to solving rural health barriers are needed.