Does living in rural areas make a difference for health in Québec?

Unravelling the extent of inequalities in health across urban and rural areas: Evidence from a national sample in England

“…Studies set in Canada, Australia, and the USA, for example, have indicated higher overall mortality rates among rural populations (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2007;Eberhardt & Pamuk, 2004;Pampalon, Martinez, & Hamel, 2006). Studies of cause specific mortality also reveal rural disadvantage with respect to mortality from suicide (Eberhardt & Pamuk, 2004;Leenaars et al, 1998;Page, Morrell, Taylor, Dudley, & Carter, 2007;Pearce, Barnett, & Jones, 2007;Singh & Siahpush, 2002) and from motor vehicle accidents (Kmet, Brasher, & Macarthur, 2003;Stella, Sprivulis, & Cooke, 2001).…”

“…Studies of cause specific mortality also reveal rural disadvantage with respect to mortality from suicide (Eberhardt & Pamuk, 2004;Leenaars et al, 1998;Page, Morrell, Taylor, Dudley, & Carter, 2007;Pearce, Barnett, & Jones, 2007;Singh & Siahpush, 2002) and from motor vehicle accidents (Kmet, Brasher, & Macarthur, 2003;Stella, Sprivulis, & Cooke, 2001). Mortality from ischemic heart disease is higher among rural Australians (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2007) and among American rural men, but lower among rural American women (Eberhardt & Pamuk, 2004) and among the rural population in one Canadian province (Pampalon et al, 2006). Cancer mortality is also more prevalent in rural areas in the USA (Eberhardt & Pamuk, 2004).…”

“…Cancer mortality is also more prevalent in rural areas in the USA (Eberhardt & Pamuk, 2004). In Canada, rural areas show higher rates of mortality from lung and stomach cancer, but lower rates of mortality from breast cancer (Pampalon et al, 2006). Rural residents in Canada and the USA are more likely to report fair or poor health and activity limitations than their urban counterparts (Eberhardt & Pamuk, 2004;Pampalon, Martinez, & Hamel, 2006), but no such difference was found in Australia (Brown, Young, & Byles, 1999).…”

“…In Canada, rural areas show higher rates of mortality from lung and stomach cancer, but lower rates of mortality from breast cancer (Pampalon et al, 2006). Rural residents in Canada and the USA are more likely to report fair or poor health and activity limitations than their urban counterparts (Eberhardt & Pamuk, 2004;Pampalon, Martinez, & Hamel, 2006), but no such difference was found in Australia (Brown, Young, & Byles, 1999). Indicators of mental health (other than suicide) have not shown consistent urban-rural patterns in the USA (Eberhardt & Pamuk, 2004), Canada (Wang, 2004), or Scandinavia (Lehtinen, Michalak, Wilkinson, Dowrick, Ayuso-Mateos, Dalgard, et al, 2003), whereas in Australia, women living in more rural and remote areas expressed lower stress compared to urban women (Brown et al, 1999).…”

“…Indicators of mental health (other than suicide) have not shown consistent urban-rural patterns in the USA (Eberhardt & Pamuk, 2004), Canada (Wang, 2004), or Scandinavia (Lehtinen, Michalak, Wilkinson, Dowrick, Ayuso-Mateos, Dalgard, et al, 2003), whereas in Australia, women living in more rural and remote areas expressed lower stress compared to urban women (Brown et al, 1999). Smoking, physical inactivity in leisure time, and obesity have also been reported to occur more frequently among rural populations (Eberhardt & Pamuk, 2004;Mitura & Bollman, 2003;Pampalon et al, 2006;Wilcox, Castro, King, Housemann, & Brownson, 2000).…”