leading health issues that are present nationwide, and based on the findings provides
objectives and goals for improving health for all residents of the United States that can be
applied at local, state and national levels (HealthyPeople.gov, 2016). The residents of the
United States in rural setting is a segment of population that shares numerous health care
issues and challenges facing the urban population, however, there are unique healthcare
delivery problems associated with these challenges that are faced by people living in rural
and remote areas of the country. The Rural Healthy People 2020 project is a companion
to The Healthy People 2020, and it strives to …show more content…
While great
strides have been made over the years in reaching benchmarks set for aforementioned
goals, both segments of population continue to share challenges relating to the issue of
accessibility of healthcare services (Studies from University of Cincinnati Update Current
Data on Rural Health, 2015). Perhaps the greatest issue with delivery of the healthcare to
RURAL HEALTH ISSUES COMPARISON OF HEALTHY PEOPLE 3
the rural and remote areas residents is one of shortage of healthcare providers on all
levels of healthcare services.
According to Bolin et al., the question of access to healthcare continues to be
identified as number one rural healthcare priority just as it was a decade ago (2015). The
rural and remote, often sparsely populated, communities in far corners of the country lack
providers on all levels compared to their urban, densely populated, counterparts. Citing
statistical data from the 2010 US Census Bureau, Bolin et al. show that vast majority of
people in the United States reside in urban/suburban areas, while approximately 17%