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A Comparison of Rural and Urban Dermatology

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Dermatology in Rural Settings

Part of the book series: Sustainable Development Goals Series ((SDGS))

Abstract

Understanding rural and non-rural populations as recipients of dermatologic care and creating a diverse dermatology work force to serve them is no doubt a formidable challenge with high stakes. As you will see in the coming text, rural populations are aging at an alarming rate, less likely to be racially or ethnically diverse, have lower household median incomes, and are more likely to be uninsured. The dermatology workforce at this time is regrettably, mal positioned to care for all rural patients as dermatologists themselves age, migrate to more urban settings, and are more likely to be employed by larger hospital systems. Not only is the density of general dermatologists unfavorable for rural residents, it is less likely that patients will have access to subspecialists within dermatology, including pediatric dermatologists and dermatologic surgeons. Additionally, diversity within the field represents an area for improvement and the intended utilization of non-physician clinicians to fill gaps in care deserves thoughtful consideration.

“We are neither anti-urban nor pro-rural. We know there is a gap between urban and rural areas; we are only trying to bridge it.”

H. D. Kumaraswamy

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, University of Minnesota Health, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Laurel Wessman & Ronda S. Farah

  2. University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USA

    Brett Macleod

Authors
  1. Laurel Wessman
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  2. Brett Macleod
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  3. Ronda S. Farah
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ronda S. Farah .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA

    Robert T. Brodell

  2. Department of Dermatology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA

    Adam C. Byrd

  3. Carris Health-CentraCare, University of Minnesota, Willmar, MN, USA

    Cindy Firkins Smith

  4. Department of Dermatology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA

    Vinayak K. Nahar

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Wessman, L., Macleod, B., Farah, R.S. (2021). A Comparison of Rural and Urban Dermatology. In: Brodell, R.T., Byrd, A.C., Firkins Smith, C., Nahar, V.K. (eds) Dermatology in Rural Settings. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75984-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75984-1_2

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