Rural Healthy People 2010: Identifying Rural Health Priorities and Models for Practice
Author: Gamm, Larry Ph.D.; Hutchinson, Linnae M.B.A.
Date Published: 2002
The 2 major goals of Healthy People 2010 are to increase the quality and years of healthy life and to eliminate health disparities. Both of these goals are of paramount importance for rural America. However, there is growing evidence that rural settings present unique challenges to attaining nationally identified objectives. There appears to be rural-urban disparities in health conditions associated with particular preventable or chronic diseases, as well as disparities in infrastructure or professional capacity to address health needs. In addition, particular geographic, demographic, and cultural conditions present obstacles both to rural residents seeking services and to providers who would deliver them. This article describes the Rural Healthy People 2010 project, intended to maximize the impact of Health People 2010 on health conditions in rural America. The objectives of this project are to improve understanding of selected rural health priorities, to identify models for practice that effectively address these priorities, and to share this information with a broader audience that includes rural communities, rural policy makers, and others.
Date Published: 2002
The 2 major goals of Healthy People 2010 are to increase the quality and years of healthy life and to eliminate health disparities. Both of these goals are of paramount importance for rural America. However, there is growing evidence that rural settings present unique challenges to attaining nationally identified objectives. There appears to be rural-urban disparities in health conditions associated with particular preventable or chronic diseases, as well as disparities in infrastructure or professional capacity to address health needs. In addition, particular geographic, demographic, and cultural conditions present obstacles both to rural residents seeking services and to providers who would deliver them. This article describes the Rural Healthy People 2010 project, intended to maximize the impact of Health People 2010 on health conditions in rural America. The objectives of this project are to improve understanding of selected rural health priorities, to identify models for practice that effectively address these priorities, and to share this information with a broader audience that includes rural communities, rural policy makers, and others.
