Rural Health
Women represent over half (52%) of the 60 million people who live in rural and frontier areas in the United States. In recent years, the image of rural life as simple, healthy, and natural has been replaced with a more complex understanding in which distinct physiological stresses, physical hardships, and community patterns of rural life are also recognized. For example, age-adjusted death rates of rural women are a fourth (24%) higher than for their urban counterparts, and rural women make fewer doctor visits, are more likely to be seriously ill, and are more likely to be admitted to the hospital when they do seek medical attention. In addition, chronic physical illnesses (e.g., diabetes and arthritis), addiction, mental illness, and long-term sequelae of serious conditions associated with urban populations such as HIV and hepatitis are increasingly recognized for their burden among rural women. Rural women may not be able to overcome the additional barriers to optimal health...
Keywords
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Domestic Violence Rural Community Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Lyme DiseaseSuggested Reading
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