The Importance of Place of Residence: Examining Health in Rural and Nonrural Areas

Abstract

We examined differences in health measures among rural, suburban, and urban residents and factors that contribute to these differences. Whereas differences between rural and urban residents were observed for some health measures, a consistent rural-to-urban gradient was not always found. Often, the most rural and the most urban areas were found to be disadvantaged compared with suburban areas. If health disparities are to be successfully addressed, the relationship between place of residence and health must be understood.

Spatial Proximity to Incidents of Community Violence Is Associated with Fewer Suicides in Urban California

“…We acquired baseline tract-level covariate data from the 2010 Census, the American Community Survey (5-year tract-level estimates for [2008][2009][2010][2011][2012], the CDPH Healthy Communities Data and Indicators Project, 16 and census tract boundary shapefiles from the US Census Bureau. 17 We restricted our analysis to urban census tracts, because patterns and determinants of suicide and homicide are different in urban versus rural areas 12,18 and therefore should be examined separately. Census tracts are also significantly larger in rural areas and do not capture communities in the same manner as urban tracts, and therefore, investigation of the relationship between community violence and suicide in rural areas would be better understood with a different study design.…”

Clinical Management and Patient Outcomes Among Children and Adolescents Receiving Telemedicine Consultations for Obesity

“…Rural populations have poorer access to healthcare and face significant health disparities compared to urban populations. [11][12][13][14][15][16] Rural residents report less access to pediatric and specialty care, greater travel time to healthcare providers, lack of insurance, lower likelihood of exercising, and higher rates of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes compared to their urban counterparts. [17][18][19][20] Unique challenges faced by rural healthcare providers include professional isolation, reduced access to medical information and continuing eduClinical Management and Patient Outcomes Among Children and Adolescents Receiving Telemedicine Consultations for Obesity O cation, and lack of communication with subspecialists and ancillary support services.…”

Weight-related perceptions among patients and physicians

“…4,8,9 Physician counseling about weight loss may be particularly important in nonmetropolitan areas, where residents are more likely to be obese, to exercise less, and to have poorer diets compared with suburban residents. 10,11 Primary care physicians report that key barriers to weight loss counseling are self-perceived low competence in treating obesity, lack of treatment effectiveness, and poor patient motivation. [12][13][14][15][16][17] Time constraints and inadequate reimbursement may also hinder physician counseling, 12,18 but these barriers appear to be less crucial than physicians' frustration with treatment ineffectiveness and expectations that patients will be unmotivated and noncompliant with weight loss recommendations.…”