Health Care Underserved Populations: Rural Health
Imagine living in an area where an appointment to see a primary care physician takes weeks or sometimes months. Or even worse, imagine if there were no primary care physicians in your area at all. These are realities many people in rural areas of the United States face. According to the Bureau of Health Professions, there are “2,100 rural underserved areas in the United States” (Health Resources & Services Administration, 2001) with roughly “20% of the U.S. population residing in a primary medical care Health Professional Shortage Area.” (Health Resources & Services Administration, 2007) The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality states that Americans who reside in rural areas are more likely to:
• “Be older, to describe their health as poor or fair, and to lack private health insurance.”
• “Face longer distances to reach hospital or other health care services, especially dental or medical specialty care.”
• “Receive care in a less timely fashion as compared with urban dwellers.”
(Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, 2002)
With these issues to overcome, a few questions have to be asked: What are the barriers facing the rural population that need health care in the United States? Who makes up this underserved group of people? What are the barriers the rural population face when trying to access health care? What challenges do health care workers face when trying to deliver health care services to rural areas? Once these questions are asked, studied, and answered, we will then be able to discuss solutions that can alleviate some of the issues facing rural health care delivery in the United States.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s classification, an area is classified as rural if it is located outside an “urban cluster - a dense area with between 2,500 and 49,999 people or an urbanized area -a dense area with at least 50,000 people with a 1,000 person per square mile overall density.” (Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, 2002) Urban areas
• “Be older, to describe their health as poor or fair, and to lack private health insurance.”
• “Face longer distances to reach hospital or other health care services, especially dental or medical specialty care.”
• “Receive care in a less timely fashion as compared with urban dwellers.”
(Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, 2002)
With these issues to overcome, a few questions have to be asked: What are the barriers facing the rural population that need health care in the United States? Who makes up this underserved group of people? What are the barriers the rural population face when trying to access health care? What challenges do health care workers face when trying to deliver health care services to rural areas? Once these questions are asked, studied, and answered, we will then be able to discuss solutions that can alleviate some of the issues facing rural health care delivery in the United States.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s classification, an area is classified as rural if it is located outside an “urban cluster - a dense area with between 2,500 and 49,999 people or an urbanized area -a dense area with at least 50,000 people with a 1,000 person per square mile overall density.” (Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, 2002) Urban areas
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