Health Problems
When compared to urban areas, rural areas have the most health problems. Most health problems people who live in rural areas face arise from the unequal distribution of health care resources. This has led to poor health outcomes among residents of rural areas. It is thus important to determine the health problems faced by residents of rural areas with the aim of finding solutions to the problems.
People living in rural areas have limited access to health care when compared to those living in urban areas. For instance, they have fewer emergency care facilities, health care workers, critical care units, and specialists such as cancer doctors. People living in rural areas live far away from healthcare facilities, which also makes them not easily access healthcare. Poor access to health care causes several problems, such as chronic diseases.
There are higher rates of chronic conditions in rural areas when compared to urban areas. Some chronic conditions common in rural areas are diabetes, stroke, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Poor access to health care is the main factor contributing to a high prevalence of chronic conditions among people living in rural areas (Cromer et al., 2019). The high prevalence of chronic diseases in rural areas has led to high morbidity and mortality in these areas.
Moreover, people living in rural areas have limited access to healthy foods. For instance, they cannot easily access supermarkets, and the variety of foods they can easily access is limited. In addition, most of the residents in rural areas cannot afford to buy healthy foods due to low income. This predisposes them to nutrition-related disorders.
Another problem commonly faced by people living in rural areas is limited access to physical activity options. Some of the physical activity options in urban areas that residents in rural areas do not enjoy are sidewalks and parks. This has led to a high prevalence of obesity in rural areas. Obesity predisposes individuals to conditions such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension.
In summary, people in rural areas face more health problems than those in urban areas. There is limited health care access, access to healthy foods, and physical activity options in rural areas. This has led to a high prevalence of chronic conditions in rural areas. As a result, high mortality rates due to these chronic conditions have been reported in rural areas.
Reference
Cromer, K. J., Wofford, L., & Wyant, D. K. (2019). Barriers to Healthcare Access Facing American Indian and Alaska Natives in Rural America. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 36(4), 165–187. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370016.2019.1665320
ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
We’ll write everything from scratch
Question 
Health Problems
Health Problems
Topic 1 Health Problems
- Which area, rural or urban, has the most health problems? Why?
- Identify four common health problems found in that selected area.