Socioeconomic Distress and Health Status: The Urban-rural Dichotomy of Services Utilization for People With Sickle Cell Disorder in North Carolina

Research on sickle cell disorder has not focused attention on the socioeconomic background and geographic distribution of people with the disease. This study examines 1,189 persons with sickle cell disorder in North Carolina during 1991 to 1995. Three indices were developed using clients' medical, psychosocial and socioeconomic characteristics for the purpose of analyzing the urban-rural difference in treatment for sickle cell disease. The study observed a wide disparity in these indices between urban and rural population groups. Also, differences were observed in the utilization of services and clients' health status. The findings suggest that utilization of services is directly related to socioeconomic condition facing clients and clinic distance from clients. They further suggest that people in rural areas who have high distress levels and are far from clinics have limited access to health care. The limited availability of medical and health care in rural areas, as well as other support systems calls for an increase in community based healthcare services. These findings should be of particular interest to the state level sickle cell disorder program in North Carolina and other areas with a large rural population. Enhanced support for all persons with sickle cell disorder in North Carolina, particularly those in rural areas, is critical.     

Distance, Use of Resources, and Mortality Among Rural Missouri Residents With Acute Myocardial Infarction

Abstract: Prompt access to medical services is considered critical in managing acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Several socioeconomic and geographic factors affect access to such care in rural areas. This study measured the effect of geographic distance from care on utilization of cardiovascular technology and death after AMI. The records of 1,658 rural Missouri residents age 65 or older with a discharge diagnosis of AMI in 1991 were obtained from Medicare data. The rate of use of cardiovascular technology and rate of post-AMI mortality for rural Missouri residents who live far from emergency departments and cardiac referral centers (CRC) were compared with those who live nearest such services. Those living 60 miles or more from a CRC were less likely to have cardiac catheterization (odds ratio [OR]=0.55; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.40 to 0.75) or angioplasty (OR=0.68; 95% CI=0.47 to 0.98), compared with those living fewer than 30 miles from a CRC. There were no differences in 30-day, 90-day, or one-year mortality rates. After adjusting for distance to a CRC, those living 20 miles or more from emergency services were more likely to have coronary artery bypass grafting (OR=1.92; 95% CI=1.18 to 3.15) than those living fewer than 10 miles from such services, but there was no difference in mortality. Distance from services strongly predicts utilization of cardiovascular resources, but it does not predict mortality among rural Missouri Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with AMI.     

一个需要重新认识的问题——对城乡卫生资源比例反差的思考

从城乡居民医疗服务需求出发,结合城乡卫生机构的性质、所承担的任务以及卫生资源利用状况,认为除部分城市医院盲目扩大规模、重复建设等原因外,城市卫生资源高于农村有其合理性,不能一概否定。居民对医疗服务的需求是配置卫生资源的基本前提。改变城乡卫生资源配置的“反差”是一项系统工程,需要很长的过程,只能随着农村经济的发展、农民收入的增加和医疗需求水平的提高而缩小“反差”;只能随着小城镇建设的进程、改变农与非     

Children with Special Health Care Needs Program: Urban/Rural Comparisons

The purposes of this study were to: (1) describe both the urban and rural clients who received services from the Indiana Children with Special Health Care Needs program (CSHCN) including both demographic and clinical characteristics; (2) conduct a health care needs assessment of the CSHCN program clients in both urban and rural areas; and (3) measure the perceived quality and adequacy of the CSHCN program services. A survey instrument was developed and mailed to all 6,459 families who participated in the Indiana CSHCN program from July 1, 1990 to June 30, 1991. Of the 2,722 questionnaires used in the analysis, 1,624 clients (59.7%) resided in urban counties and 1,098 (40.3%) resided in rural counties. The most frequently noted conditions for program eligibility were asthma, ear infections, hearing impairments, heart defects, and convulsions and seizures. Asthma had greater prevalence among the urban clients while cleft lip/palate, epilepsy, and heart defects were more common among the rural clients. The majority of program clients perceived their medical needs as being met. However, significant numbers of clients perceived unmet needs for mental health services, support groups, information about community services, resources to pay for uncovered medical expenses, and respite care. Of the 23 listed services, five were reported at significantly lower rates by rural clients as not being met: regular medical care, recreation, child care/day care, parent support group services, and speech therapy. Quality of medical services was generally perceived as being "excellent or good," while services related to information about community programs, child's rights in school, resources available to pay for uncovered medical expenses, as well as communication between the treatment center and the child's school were more often rated as "fair or poor." A smaller proportion of rural clients rated physician care and availability of staff nurses as fair or poor. A larger percentage of the rural group reported that access to treatment center location was fair or poor, compared to the urban group. Overall, the evaluation of the Indiana CSHCN program has shown that the non-medical care component seems to be in need of change, especially in the area of information and communication. Attention needs to be focused on providing more family support such as respite or child care and support groups, better information and communications, and improved availability of mental health services to better enable the CSHCN program to meet its objectives.     

河北省城乡居民卫生服务需求与利用趋势分析与对策

目的:了解河北省城乡居民的卫生服务需求与利用情况,为制定政策提供依据。方法:采取多级分层整群随机抽样,确定5 998户的20 529名常住居民作为调查对象,用统一的调查表进行询问调查。结果:调查人群的两周患病率为18.75%,城市高于农村,与1993年相比有上升趋势;慢性病患病率为16.9%,城市高于农村,与1998年相比有上升趋势;两周就诊率为14.32%,比1993年明显下降,两周未就诊率为57.60%。居民住院率为2.56%,与1993年相比有下降趋势。结论:城乡居民的卫生服务需要量呈上升趋势,卫生服务的需求量及利用率呈下降趋势。应采取有效措施,提高卫生服务利用率。     

Alcohol and Drug Use in Rural Colonias and Adjacent Urban Areas of the Texas Border

ABSTRACT:  Context: Little is known about substance use and treatment utilization in rural communities of the United States/Mexico border. Purpose: To compare substance use and need and desire for treatment in rural colonias and urban areas of the border. Methods: Interviews were conducted in 2002-2003 with a random sample of adults living in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, adjacent to the Mexican border. The present analysis compares responses from 400 residents of rural colonias to those of 395 residents of cities and towns in the same geographic region. Findings: While the prevalence of drug use and drug-related problems was similar in both areas, binge drinking and alcohol dependence were higher in rural colonias than in urban areas and remained so after taking demographic and neighborhood variables into account. An increase in illicit drug use and substance-related problems in rural but not urban areas was seen when comparing results from this study with those of a previous survey conducted in 1996. The percentage of adults in potential need of treatment and the percentage motivated to seek it were similar in both urban and rural areas. However, colonia residents were more likely than their urban counterparts to be recent immigrants and to have lower incomes and educational attainment, factors that can increase the barriers they face in getting needed services. Conclusions: Rural areas are "catching up" with urban areas in problematic substance use. Given the potential barriers to accessing treatment services in rural areas, efforts should be focused on reaching those residents.     

Rural, Urban and Suburban Comparisons of Preventive Services in Family Practice Clinics

Numerous studies have compared health services provided in rural and urban areas, and overall they have found that utilization is lower in rural areas. A significant factor in lower utilization is that rural residents have less access to health services. Much less is known about rural and urban utilization differences once a patient has access to a service provider. This paper focuses on preventive services received when a patient is already in a clinic. Using data from an in-depth qualitative study of 16 family practice clinics in Nebraska, comparisons of physician-specific preventive service rates are made across three geographic categories: rural, urban and suburban. Results from a one-way multivariate analysis of variance show that preventive services rates for nine services examined were as high or higher in rural areas, suggesting that rural health services do not lag for patients with access.     

Telepsychiatry: Challenges in Rural Aging

A significant health care dilemma for older individuals living in rural areas is that at a time in life when there is, predictably, a greater need for medical services, the ability to access those limited services is markedly reduced. Telepsychiatry presents an innovative and cost-effective strategy for the provision of improved local access to quality mental health services for the underserved rural elderly. Telepsychiatry has demonstrated the potential to improve access to mental health services, provide those services in an affordable and cost-effective manner and deliver those services at a quality nearly equal to traditional face-to-face services. Advances in telepsychiatry technology allow a core group of skilled mental health providers in a central location to provide timely local access to quality services for the rural elderly over a broad geographic area.     

Geographic differences in mortality of young children with sickle cell disease in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: Because geographic differences in health care have been found for many diseases, including those affecting children, there are probably geographic differences in the health care of young children with sickle cell disease. Consequently, survival of young children with sickle cell disease might differ among geographic areas. This study''s objective was to identify areas in the United States where young children with sickle cell disease are at especially high and low risk of dying. METHODS: Using U.S. death certificate data from 1968 through 1992, the authors calculated the mortality rates of 1- through 4-year-old black children with sickle cell disease for states, counties, and cities. Deaths from trauma, congenital anomalies, and perinatal conditions were excluded. RESULTS: From 1968 through 1980 and from 1981 through 1992, 1- through 4-year-old black children with sickle cell disease in Florida had a markedly higher risk of dying, and those in Pennsylvania had a markedly lower risk of dying, than the average 1- through 4-year-old black child with the disease in the United States. From 1981 through 1992, 1- through 4-year-old black children with sickle cell disease in Maryland had the lowest mortality rate in the nation. During the same time period, 1- through 4-year-old black children with sickle cell disease in five counties in Florida were at especially high risk, while in Baltimore no young black children with the disease died. These geographic differences in mortality of black children with sickle cell disease greatly exceeded geographic differences in mortality of black children without the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Marked differences exist across the United States in mortality of young black children with sickle cell disease. To improve survival for children with the disease in high mortality areas, evaluations should be made of the accessibility and quality of medical care, and of parents'' health care seeking behavior and compliance with antibiotic prophylaxis. In addition, efforts should be made to understand and duplicate the success of treatment programs in low mortality areas.     

Health Status of the Rural Elderly

An enormous proportion of the worlds elderly live in rural areas and show wide variations in health status. Many, particularly those in the developing countries, are vulnerable to greater socioeconomic and health marginalization mainly due to inadequate provision of services and economic deprivation. As with the urban elderly, locomotor, visual and hearing disabilities, as well as life-threatening conditions of coronary heart disease, diabetes and hypertension are common among rural elders also. Infections continue to take a heavy toll in many parts of the world. Higher prevalence of health and functioning impairments and of risk factors like sedentarism and current smoking have been reported for the rural elderly in developed countries like the United States, where less frequent use of certain preventive services also has been observed among the rural elderly. The positive association of well-being and health with variables such as living with family, having children, and community involvement, which has been reported from developing countries like Ghana and India, supports the usefulness of the time-honored value of joint family systems and lifelong social and physical activity--all known to foster healthy aging. Such traditional virtues therefore need to be preserved and strengthened. Effective geriatric health care services need to stress a community approach to primary health care, with provision of support and training for both family caregivers and professionals. In addition, emphasis on health promotion, cost-effective indigenous systems of medicine and gender-sensitive programs is needed.     

Geographic Access to Health Care for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries

CONTEXT: Patients in rural areas may use less medical care than those living in urban areas. This could be due to differences in travel distance and time and a utilization of a different mix of generalists and specialists for their care. PURPOSE: To compare the travel times, distances, and physician specialty mix of all Medicare patients living in Alaska, Idaho, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington. METHODS: Retrospective design, using 1998 Medicare billing data. Travel time was determined by computing the road distance between 2 population centroids: the patient's and the provider's zone improvement plan codes. FINDINGS: There were 2,220,841 patients and 39,780 providers in the cohort, including 6,405 (16.1%) generalists, 24,772 (62.3%) specialists, and 8,603 (21.6%) nonphysician providers. There were 20,693,828 patient visits during the study. The median overall 1-way travel distance and time was 7.7 miles (interquartile range 1.9-18.7 miles) and 11.7 minutes (interquartile range 3.0-25.7 minutes). The patients in rural areas needed to travel 2 to 3 times farther to see medical and surgical specialists than those living in urban areas. Rural residents with heart disease, cancer, depression, or needing complex cardiac procedures or cancer treatment traveled the farthest. Increasing rurality was also related to decreased visits to specialists and an increasing reliance on generalists. CONCLUSIONS: Residents of rural areas have increased travel distance and time compared to their urban counterparts. This is particularly true for rural residents with specific diagnoses or those undergoing specific procedures. Our results suggest that most rural residents do not rely on urban areas for much of their care.     

中国城市居民医疗服务利用影响因素的研究--四步模型法的基本理论及其应用

目的 对于中国城市居民医疗服务利用的影响因素进行了分析。方法 采用四步模型法对医疗服务利用进行研究。结果 影响城市就诊和住院概率的因素主要是疾病种类及其严重程度、儿童少年和医疗保障制度,未见社会经济、卫生服务可及性等因素的显著性差异;医疗服务利用差异突出反映在不同阶层居民在门诊和住院过程中的资源消耗,高阶层居民医疗费用明显高于低阶层可通过不同的医疗服务质量和诱导需求加以解释。结论 中国城市居民医疗     

Health inequalities based on ethnicity in individuals aged 15 to 64, Brazil, 1998

This study aimed to analyze inequalities in health status and utilization of medical consultations and hospital services by Brazilian young and adult populations according to ethnicity. The survey analyzes a representative sample of the Brazilian population aged 15 to 64 years, except those living in the rural area of the Amazon. The prevalence of fair or poor health status was substantially higher among black men, white women, and black women. The influence of gender and ethnicity remains significant after adjusting for age and socioeconomic conditions (OR = 1.11; 1.49 and 1.86 respectively). Differences between blacks and whites decrease with age, but increase with socioeconomic status. There were 10% more medical consultations among white individuals. The differences were more striking among young people who reported good health status. For individuals with fair or poor health, no differences were observed in frequency of medical consultations between blacks and whites. There were no significant differences in hospitalization rates. With regard to health status, differences between blacks and whites were striking. However, the same was not true for utilization of health services.     

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

Studies of inequalities in health between rural and urban settings have produced mixed and sometimes conflicting results, depending on the national setting of the study, the level of geographic detail used to define rural areas and the health indicators studied. By focusing on morbidity data from a national sample of individuals, this study aims to examine the extent of inequalities in health between urban and rural areas, as well as inequalities in health across rural areas of England. Multilevel analyses for poor self-rated health, overweight and obesity, and common mental disorders are reported for a sample of 30,776 individuals aged 18 years and older (obtained from the Health Survey for England years 2000–2003 combined) and distributed across 3645 small areas classed in four categories: two groups of urban areas (Greater London area or ‘other cities’) and two types of rural settings (semi-rural areas or villages). Results show that rural dwellers were significantly less likely than residents of urban areas to report their health as being fair or poor and to report common mental disorders, independent of their socio-demographic characteristics. However, as for urban settlements, there were significant variations in health across semi-rural areas and across villages, indicating the presence of health inequalities within rural settings in England. These inequalities were not fully explained by the individual composition of the areas or by the available measures of area socioeconomic conditions, indicating that in rural contexts more specific factors may have significance for health. Different policies and services for health promotion and care may need to be targeted to different types of rural areas.     

Quality of Life in Rural and Urban Adults 65 Years and Older: Findings From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Purpose: The proportion of people over 65 years of age is higher in rural areas than in urban areas, and their numbers are expected to increase in the next decade. This study used Andersen's behavioral model to examine quality of life (QOL) in a nationally representative sample of community‐dwelling adults 65 years and older according to geographic location. Specifically, associations between 3 dimensions of QOL (health‐related QOL [HQOL], social functioning, and emotional well‐being) and needs and health behaviors were examined. Methods: The 2005‐2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination survey was linked with the 2007 Area Resources File via the National Center for Health Statistics’ remote access system. Frequencies and distribution patterns were assessed according to rural, adjacent, and urban locations. Findings: Older adults reported high levels of QOL; however, rural older adults had lower social functioning than their urban counterparts. Older blacks and Hispanics had lower scores than whites on 2 dimensions of QOL. Associations between QOL and needs and health behaviors varied. Although activities of daily living were associated with all 3 dimensions, others were associated with 1 or 2 dimensions. Conclusions: The lower scores on social functioning in rural areas suggest that rural older adults may be socially isolated. Older rural adults may need interventions to maintain physical and mental health, strengthen social relationships and support, and increase their participation in the community to promote QOL. In addition, older blacks and Hispanics seem more vulnerable than whites and may need more assistance.     

我国中老年患者自我医疗现状及影响因素研究*

目的了解我国中老年患病人群自我医疗现状及其影响因素,为促进中老年人医疗服务利用提供建议。方法基于2015年中国健康与养老追踪调查数据,对中老年人群患病后行为的影响因素进行单因素分析和logistic回归分析。结果慢性病人群更倾向于自我医疗(42.06%),一个月内新患病人群更倾向于就医(63.24%);在自我医疗与不处理的选择上,慢性病患者(OR=0.36,P0.001)倾向于不处理,在自我医疗与就医的选择上,慢性病患者(OR=4.13,P0.001)、居住城市者(OR=1.23,P=0.001)倾向于自我医疗。结论慢性病、男性、高龄和农村地区的中老年患病群体治疗率仍有待提高,慢性病、城市地区居民自我医疗率应降低。应采取增加农村卫生资源投入、健康教育等方式,改善城乡基层卫生服务公平性,降低自我医疗的发生率。     

社区卫生服务资源配置评价方法研究

目的探讨深圳市区域社区卫生服务资源配置状况及其公平性程度,为社区卫生资源配置评价方法提供依据.方法对深圳六个区采取分层整群随机抽样的方法,在深圳市区内和市区外各抽取一个区.并用Lorenz曲线和Gini系数对深圳市区内外2城区90家社区卫生服务资源配置状况进行评价.结果在资源配置人均拥有量上市区内高于市区外;在资源配置公平程度上,2城区社区卫生卫技人员总数、社区医生数、机构设施数、市政府对社区卫生服务投入经费等资源在人口配置上其Gini系数处于0.2～0.4之间,其公平状态处于最佳状态和正常状态;而业务用房2区Gini系数＞0.4,均处于警戒状态;2城区社区护士数在人口配置上其Gini系数分别为0.423和0.302,即整体公平状态市区外好与市区内.结论在区域内社区卫生服务资源配置评价时,应将资源配置水平指标与公平性指标相结合,才能完整地评价社区卫生资源配置的实际状况.     

Tooth loss and associated socioeconomic, demographic, and dental-care factors in Brazilian adults: an analysis of the Brazilian Oral Health Survey, 2002-2003

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of tooth loss among Brazilian adults aged 35 to 44 years. The study also tested the association between tooth loss and demographic, socioeconomic, and dental-care utilization variables. Data were analyzed from 13,431 individuals submitted to dental examination and interviewed in the National Oral Health Survey in 2002-2003. The number of lost teeth ( 12) was the outcome. Exploratory variables included geographic area, gender, skin color, age, per capita income, schooling, time since last dental appointment, and type of dental service used. Crude and adjusted prevalence ratios were estimated using a Poisson regression model. The prevalence of edentulism was 9%, while median tooth loss was 11. Tooth loss was strongly associated with living in rural areas, female gender, poor socioeconomic status, low schooling, and older age. Individuals who attended public dental care services and those with more time elapsed since their last dental appointment showed a higher prevalence of tooth loss than their counterparts after controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors.     

Health, mental health, substance use, and service utilization among rural and urban incarcerated women.

Incarcerated women commonly report health, mental health, and substance use problems, yet there is limited research on service utilization before incarceration, particularly among women from urban and rural areas. This study includes a stratified random sample of 100 rural and urban incarcerated women to profile the health, mental health, substance use, and service utilization; examine the relationship between the number of self-reported problems and service utilization; and examine self-reported health and mental health problems in prison as associated with preincarceration health-related problems and community service utilization. Study findings suggest that health and mental health problems and substance use do not differ significantly among rural and urban women prisoners. However, there are differences in service utilization -- particularly behavioral health services including mental health and substance abuse services; urban women report more service utilization. In addition, rural women who reported using needed community services before prison also reported fewer health problems in prison. Implications for correctional and community treatment opportunities in rural and urban areas are discussed.     

Psychosocial Differences Between Urban and Rural People Living With HIV/AIDS

Abstract: During the past decade, many investigations have examined the life circumstances of people living with HIV disease. Most of these studies, however, have focused on HIV-infected people in large metropolitan areas. This study compares the psychosocial profiles of rural and urban people living with HIV disease. Anonymous, self-administered surveys were completed by 276 people with HIV/AIDS in a Midwestern state. The assessment instrument measured respondents' quality of life, perceptions of loneliness, social support, experiences with AIDS-related discrimination, access to services, and illness-related coping strategies. Compared with their urban counterparts, rural people with HIV reported a significantly lower satisfaction with life, lower perceptions of social support from family members and friends, reduced access to medical and mental health care, elevated levels of loneliness, more community stigma, heightened personal fear that their HIV serostatus would be learned by others, and more maladaptive coping strategies. Programs that are designed to improve the life circumstances of people with HIV disease in rural areas—particularly those that facilitate access to adequate health care, increase perceptions of social support, and improve illness-related coping—are urgently needed.