Rough Health in Rural Areas

Rough Health in Rural Areas

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Each year, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation releases health-related statistics about each county across the United States. The County Health Rankings are based on factors such as length and quality of life, social and economic factors, clinical care, physical environment, level of education and more. For the past seven years, these rankings have proven to be a valuable resource for those studying healthcare trends, and this year, the verdict is something we all expected, but didn’t want to hear.

Many people feel that there are plenty of advantages that come along with living in rural areas; personal space, larger properties and fresh air being just a few. One thing you shouldn’t expect if you choose to live in the countryside is having better health. This may sound surprising, but the County Health Rankings found that those living in rural areas are being left behind when it comes to health.

Health at risk in Rural Areas

One of the most obvious examples of the declination in the health of those living in rural areas lies within the charts that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released with it’s findings. While premature deaths in the United States as a whole continue to lower, this is an area in which rural communities are lacking.

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Experts claim that the level of premature deaths can technically judge an areas all around health, and as you can see, the urban and suburban trump the small metro and rural areas. So, now, of course, we’re all wondering why those living in rural areas are so much worse off when it comes to health.

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Well, if you’re worried about becoming a victim of violent crime, then you should definitely head to one of the nation’s rural counties, but as far as every other major health factor goes, you should be worried. To decipher the graph above, rural areas have the most smokers, the most obesity, the most teen births, the highest number of uninsured people, the most children in poverty, and the highest amount of injury-related deaths. Physicians and experts believe that each factor listed above plays a large role in an individual’s health, so it’s no wonder these areas are getting left behind when it comes to physical and mental wellness.

Why Rural Areas are getting Left Behind

Now that we’ve taken a look at the health factors that have lead to this decline in health, let’s delve into the reasoning behind these statistics. The causes can be interpreted differently, but most perceive it to be caused by two major factors: accessibility and patient engagement.

Within the issue of accessibility you’ll realize that those living in rural areas simply don’t have access to the same healthcare those in urban areas have access to. In some areas, the nearest hospital is hours away. In others, there’s one physician trying to see thousands of patients. This issue is currently being addressed in a number of ways. This is partly due to the physician shortage; in rural areas, 43 percent of physician visits are with a family physician, compared to 23 percent in suburban and urban areas, and unfortunately, family physicians only make up about 13 to 15 percent of physicians in the United States. So, in the areas that do have a physician nearby, he or she is often severely overworked. The primary thing being done to combat the issue of accessibility is temporarily relocating physicians, and sending locums to areas that are particularly short-staffed.

Patient engagement is really just a matter of individuals taking responsibility for their own health. Physicians need their patients to take matters into their own hands and participate in preventative care, rather than just waiting until an issue arises. In other words, if these individuals were eating better, exercising regularly and avoiding hazardous hobbies such as smoking or regular drinking, chances are they would be much healthier and require less visits to their physician. While this sounds simple enough, difficulties emerge due to the complexity of modern healthcare and patients’ inability to understand physicians’ complicated jargon. Despite this, most healthcare facilities are taking action to increase patient engagement, in hopes that this will lead to a healthier population.

 

Author: Locum Jobs Online

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