Rural Health Disparities

There are many pieces to the health and well-being puzzle that every human faces throughout their lifetime. Some pieces are out of our control such as genetics, others involve personal responsibility such as exercise and a healthy diet, and even other pieces involve the responsibility of those around us, such as healthcare professionals.
Healthcare professionals are responsible for providing quality healthcare. Apart from personal responsibility, the well-being of the general population is dependent on the actions of healthcare providers across the country every single day. However, no matter how hard the healthcare system tries, providing equal care across all patient types is challenging.
Traditionally underserved patient populations in the United States include people of color, the elderly, and those living in rural areas. These groups may disproportionately experience illness and disease without adequate treatment, including diseases like cancer and diabetes.
Today we will take a closer look at health disparities in rural areas to explore why they exist, what kind of rural health concerns individuals are facing, and what can be done to mitigate them.
What Is a Health Disparity?
Healthy People 2030 defines a health disparity as “a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic, or environmental disadvantage.”
Health disparities come about as a result of health inequities, which are unjust and avoidable circumstances that create care gaps in underserved populations.
Examples of healthcare disparities are:
- The likelihood of death in African American infants’ first year of life is 2 and a half times as likely as the general population, and 2 times as likely for American Indian infants.
- A disproportionate amount of ethnic minorities are affected by conditions such as cancer or diabetes.
- A lack of access to quality care in rural areas
How Do Health Disparities Affect Rural Areas?
Rural areas are steadily becoming more populated as people seek a slower pace of life, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The perks of living in rural areas are associated with a lower cost of living, less pollution, and more space. A major downside of rural living is geographic disparities – for example, population increases are often not reflected in necessary services such as adequate healthcare.
Rural vs Urban Health Disparities
While urban areas have health resources and public transportation at the ready, rural areas do not benefit from these same perks. Health disparities do occur in urban settings due to various socioeconomic factors, but rural settings face a particular healthcare challenge due to a population that generally has lower levels of education, environmental health, and healthcare literacy. A lack of health literacy leads to less exposure to healthcare information online, where many in urban areas source their health information.
Additional disparities rural areas face are:
Access to doctors and specialists: Specialty healthcare providers are most commonly located in densely populated areas to accommodate as many clients as possible. While this makes sense for service and business, it lowers the chances of a rural area having access to specialists for diseases like diabetes or cancer.
Sufficient healthcare coverage: A large number of the rural population lacks sufficient healthcare coverage. Ironically, it is this very population that often needs comprehensive coverage the most due to a lack of education and resources.
Diabetes in rural areas: According to a CDC study in 2016, 12.6% of the diabetic population in America is located in nonmetropolitan counties, compared to 9.9% in metropolitan counties.
Type 2 diabetes is an often preventable disease that disproportionately affects individuals in rural areas – in the U.S, the southeast is particularly affected. Type 2’s concentration in rural areas can be attributed to limited education that leads to a sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition choices, and lack of access to doctor intervention.
Typical hallmarks of diabetes are unintended weight loss, fatigue, and increased thirst, all brought about as a result of high blood sugar and insulin resistance. But there are other dangers that come with diabetes, including diabetic retinopathy. This is an eye condition that is preventable with screenings but incredibly difficult to treat once the condition has taken root. Early screening is crucial for the prevention and treatment of diabetic retinopathy, but many rural areas lack adequate resources for the necessary screening supplies.
How IRIS Helps
One step to reduce the impact of diabetes complications in rural areas is early screening for diabetic retinopathy. The mission of IRIS mission is to prevent blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy by connecting with providers to deliver high-quality care for your undiagnosed patients.
Our newest offering, IRIS Now, is tailor-made to meet rural communities where they are. IRIS Now provides efficient and affordable retinal screenings through portable fundus cameras, so your rural patient base can receive diabetic retinopathy screenings from in-home healthcare providers or through their primary care doctor. Image enhancement software is automatically applied to each retinal image, giving eye care providers a heightened ability to identify potential disease and severity. Healthcare disparities are a threat to the well-being of the most vulnerable in our patient populations, but they are not impossible to overcome. Early preventative screenings for patients with diabetes ultimately lead to better healthcare outcomes and higher HEDIS and STAR ratings for your practice.
Join the fight against diabetic health disparities in rural areas by implementing IRIS Now in your healthcare practice. Reach out to us today to inquire about a free demo of our technology.
FAQs:
What are the causes of health disparities in rural areas?
Health inequities are the root cause of many rural health disparities. Examples include lack of education, lack of sufficient health coverage, and lack of access to specialty doctors for diseases like diabetes and cancer.
How can IRIS help in closing health disparities in rural areas?
The IRIS fundus camera and screening software is available in a portable, easy-to-use format so that primary care and in-home health doctors can administer crucial diabetic retinopathy screenings and catch the disease before a patient experiences irreversible vision loss.
What regions of the country experience higher levels of rural health disparities?
Rural areas of America’s southeastern states experience high levels of health disparities, including suffering from diabetes. The “diabetes belt” is comprised of 644 counties in 15 (majority southern) states.
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