There are unique challenges and health issues surrounding rural environments. While the hospital or clinic itself might have the latest technology, they’re usually in areas where the people aren’t able or willing to travel to the facility. Those entering the health care field should be aware of the rural public health issues as well as the differences in treating those issues in rural facilities versus urban ones.
Smoking and Alcohol Abuse
Many problems associated with those in a rural environment come from lack of health education. The lack of advantages like less education, poorer health conditions and lack of job satisfaction lead to excesses like smoking and alcohol abuse, which can have a variety of detrimental impacts on health on rural citizens.
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Lack of Access
When a person living in a rural area becomes sick, they are less likely to travel to a hospital when it’s hours away from them. They might not have time to spend traveling or they don’t have the means to do it. This lack of access can make minor health issues much worse. Cancers that could have been caught early and treated are left to wither the person’s body away without treatment. The elderly are not able to get treatment for chronic conditions without reliable transportation.
Job Safety Risks
In rural areas, the jobs are often physical. From farming to factory work, workers are exposed to more chemicals and safety hazards than in other areas of the country. The slow exposure to chemicals can take its toll on the lungs and other organs. On-the-job accident rates are higher among the rural population than those in an urban environment too. Accidents with large machinery in a factory or with dangerous farm equipment causes serious injuries that can lead to death when not treated immediately.
Lack of Health Insurance
While many people living in rural communities want to have access to health care, they are often limited by the costs. They work in jobs that do not supply health care options. This leads to the lack of health insurance. While many have taken advantage of government subsidies, others are not able to take advantage of it at all. There are more rural residents who are eligible for some kind of assistance, but less than take advantage of it compared to urban residents.
Issues with Privacy
Finally, the closeness of a rural community can work against the people who live in the tight knit community. When they’re concerned about gossip and lack of privacy more than seeing a doctor for a problem, they’re less likely to seek medical help. This leaves them without proper care when they need it the most. When they’re concerned about mental health issues and chronic illnesses being fodder for gossip, they won’t seek medical advice.
Between lack of medical insurance, the illusion of lack of privacy and the distance to the nearest hospitals, there are more rural public health issues that wouldn’t impact an urban environment. There’s often a lack of health education to contend with too. Those who enter the health care field with an eye towards working in a rural environment will be able to get to know their neighbors and become friends with patients in a way that isn’t possible in an urban area, but that means the rural health issues become more personal too.
