Introduction Rural populations are faced with many unique problems that those in urban areas don’t deal with. Some of the causes of these rural health disparities are access to healthcare, socioeconomic status, and health behaviors. Resolution is difficult, as there are many factors that intermingle, causing a more complex issue. For example, access to healthcare isn’t simply about being able to get to a clinic or hospital because of location, it is also related to being uninsured, which is more common in rural areas due to low to moderate household incomes and greater incidences of unemployment. Add to that the certain health behaviors that are more prevalent in rural areas (such as smoking and obesity), and you have a problem made up
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Since its inception in 1979, the US Department of Health and Human Services has published a report of the data and information gathered from the previous ten years that identify national health targets for that decade, encourage partnerships across sectors, measure the effect of prevention activity, and encourage individuals to make informed health decisions (“About Healthy,” 2016). Compared to previous versions, Healthy People 2020 has placed more importance on health promotion and preventive tactics, and has put a practical focus on the importance of addressing social determinants of health (Fielding, Kumanyika & Manderscheid, …show more content…
According to the Healthy People 2020 website, the goal of this topic is to improve individuals’ access to comprehensive, quality health care services. Barriers to these services include lack of availability, high cost, and lack of insurance coverage. The objective to increase the proportion of persons with medical insurance would have a tremendous impact on rural areas. As mentioned previously, increased poverty rates go hand-in-hand with an inability to afford medical coverage. If coverage could be provided to all individuals, then naturally there would be more people obtaining care, less people with overall poor health status, and in the long-term, these people would live
Since its inception in 1979, the US Department of Health and Human Services has published a report of the data and information gathered from the previous ten years that identify national health targets for that decade, encourage partnerships across sectors, measure the effect of prevention activity, and encourage individuals to make informed health decisions (“About Healthy,” 2016). Compared to previous versions, Healthy People 2020 has placed more importance on health promotion and preventive tactics, and has put a practical focus on the importance of addressing social determinants of health (Fielding, Kumanyika & Manderscheid, …show more content…
According to the Healthy People 2020 website, the goal of this topic is to improve individuals’ access to comprehensive, quality health care services. Barriers to these services include lack of availability, high cost, and lack of insurance coverage. The objective to increase the proportion of persons with medical insurance would have a tremendous impact on rural areas. As mentioned previously, increased poverty rates go hand-in-hand with an inability to afford medical coverage. If coverage could be provided to all individuals, then naturally there would be more people obtaining care, less people with overall poor health status, and in the long-term, these people would live