Question

Looking at population groups and some of their unique challenges, respond to the following:

What are some ways that rural communities have tried to improve access to healthcare?

What are the challenges faced in rural health?

How can those challenges be addressed?

Answer 1

The hospitals in the rural areas suffer from the limited financial resources, lack of adequate infrastructure, lack of facilities, inadequate doctors and nurses, instruments and tools are of sub-standard quality etc. Normally these problems are faced by hospitals situated in a rural area because of low market opportunity and viability, massive investment in infrastructure and other facilities in the hospital are not done. In larger and metropolitan areas, market size is large and people have the disposable income to pay and doctors also prefer to live in the metro area. These supply factors are less in metropolitan areas due to its locational advantage but in rural areas, supply gap is much more.

Some of the strategies followed previously to improve the rural health care include, telemedicine, ambulance services to the rural areas, expanding the medical facilities and collaborative care models. The Office of the Rural Health Policy within the Health Resources and Service Administration of the US Department of HHS was constituted in the year 1987 so that the better health-related services can be offered in these areas. However, still, there are a significant number of premature deaths are being reported in the rural areas.

The promotion of National Health Service Cop. the designation of Health professional Shortage Areas and Medically Un-served areas, the development of Community and Migrant Health Center and the implementation of Rural Health Clinic ACT can be seen as the various initiatives taken by the government to improve the healthcare related situations in these areas. Apart from this, providing the college access programs, preschool education programs, programs that enhance employment, improving the rural transportation systems can be the useful measures.