The first of its kind, this book provides a comprehensive sociological treatment of trends in rural USA health and health care. The editors have presented both integrative reviews of theory and research on rural health issues, as well as the most up-to-date findings of empirical research. This book emphasizes differences between rural and urban areas in health and health care, and chapter authors report the interactions of gender, race, social class, region, and age or life course stage with different substantive health issues. This informative and groundbreaking text/reference goes beyond the prior studies by examining health and well-being of rural people at all stages of the life cycle with the most up-to-date statistics available.
Contents
Introduction
Challenges to a Healthy Rural America
Health Disparities Among People of Color/Disadvantaged Groups
Formal and Informal Health Care in Rural America
Meeting the Challenges
Conclusions