A Literature Review of Health Issues of the Rural Elderly

A Survey of Hospices' Use of Complementary Therapy

“…Theoretical developments as a result of this research describe rural dwellers as independent, engaging in more self-care than their urban counterparts (10,11,12,13). This early research (10,11,12,13) highlights the fact that rural dwellers have traditionally been isolated from innovations in many areas, particularly in health care.…”

“…Theoretical developments as a result of this research describe rural dwellers as independent, engaging in more self-care than their urban counterparts (10,11,12,13). This early research (10,11,12,13) highlights the fact that rural dwellers have traditionally been isolated from innovations in many areas, particularly in health care. Complementary therapies, while considered innovative in many urban areas, are often extensions of practices handed down from generation to generation and are included in the informal repertoire of self-care and selfhealth management of older rural dwellers (14,15).…”

Factors Associated with Physical Activity in Older Adults by Region: Based on the 2017 Community Health Survey

“…Among older adults in non-urban areas, the group with no chronic diseases and the group with three or more chronic diseases were significantly less likely to belong to the minimally active group than the inactive group, compared to the group with four or more chronic diseases. In this regard, older adults tend to assess their health conditions favorably [25], and in the case of older adults without chronic diseases, their excessive confidence in their health is thought to hinder them from getting motivated to promote their health status, which may be a factor influencing the reduction in physical activity. However, in older adults in urban areas, the number of chronic diseases was found to have no significant impact on physical activity, and these results suggest that physical activity may be affected by differences in other social and environmental factors between urban and non-urban areas, so a followup study is needed to confirm them.…”

Health‐related Quality of Life: Does Rurality Matter?

“…Compared with urban residents, rural elders are about twice as likely to live in poverty or to be poor (Coward, 1979;Glasgow, 1988;Krout, 1986). They are more likely than urban elders to have chronic conditions and activity limitations (Cutler, et al, 1988;Hassinger, et al, 1993), to live in poorer housing (Coward, 1979;Coward, et al, 1985;Krout, 1986), to have limited personal transportation (Cutler, et al, 1992;Krout, 1986) and to have poorer access to services (Coward, et al, 1994;Hassinger, et al, 1993).…”