Achieving Rural Health Equity and Well-Being
Achieving Rural Health Equity and Well-Being

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2018-10-17

Total Pages: 95

ISBN-13: 0309469058

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Rural counties make up about 80 percent of the land area of the United States, but they contain less than 20 percent of the U.S. population. The relative sparseness of the population in rural areas is one of many factors that influence the health and well-being of rural Americans. Rural areas have histories, economies, and cultures that differ from those of cities and from one rural area to another. Understanding these differences is critical to taking steps to improve health and well-being in rural areas and to reduce health disparities among rural populations. To explore the impacts of economic, demographic, and social issues in rural communities and to learn about asset-based approaches to addressing the associated challenges, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a workshop on June 13, 2017. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Communities in Action
Communities in Action

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2017-04-27

Total Pages: 583

ISBN-13: 0309452961

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

Rural Poverty in America
Rural Poverty in America

Author: Cynthia M. Duncan

Publisher: Praeger

Published: 1992-01-13

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Nine million people in the United States live in rural poverty. This large segment of the population has generally been overlooked even as considerable attention, and social conscience, is directed to the alleviation of urban poverty. This timely, needed volume focuses on poor, rural people in poor, rural settings. Rural poverty is not confined to one section of the country or to one ethnic group. It is a national problem and the resolution of hidden America's persistent economic plight will now depend on a better understanding of who is poor and why. The clear, authoritative chapters describe the declining opportunities available in rural areas--including the social, educational, and political factors that so often pose barriers to economic advancement. Part One provides a comprehensive description of the poor population and an analysis of rural poverty's underlying dynamics. Low wages, the character of rural labor markets, and chronic inter-generational poverty are carefully considered to lay the basis for formulating sound responses. Part Two looks at the condition of particular groups suffering poverty in rural areas. These include African-Americans, Appalchians, Native Americans, and migrant workers. It addresses the special problems of those who, although in relatively prosperous rural areas, live at or below the poverty level. Part Three looks to successful lessons from the past and evaluates current steps that may be taken to frame policy recommendations that will mitigate present stress, foster improved opportunities, and open a better life to America's rural poor.