5 Factors that Impact Rural Communities

Behind the calm, slow-paced rural life lurks multiple challenges impacting a community’s standard of living. As many of these areas are underdeveloped, they often lack proper public transportation and key services like health care. Most people living there are likely to struggle financially due to the low economic activities and high unemployment rates. Overall, these hardships contribute to the health crisis affecting many families in the countryside.    

1. Health Care Access

Inaccessibility of health care is one of the socio-economic challenges that rural dwellers grapple with every day. It partly explains the high disease prevalence and mortality rates in these communities. Factors inhibiting health care access in rural areas include:

• Fewer health care facilities and professionals– The sick or injured may not receive timely medical care due to insufficient health centers and fewer doctors or medical specialists.
• Funding issues–There are about 2,000 rural hospitals in the U.S. Some of them have closed due to financial problems, leaving their communities underserved. 
• Transportation– In most sparsely populated rural areas, people travel long distances to get medical help. Fewer transportation options make health care inaccessible to many.
• Unemployment– Low-income households often cannot afford basic health services. 
• Lack of education– This factor contributes to unemployment, poverty, and the lack of health insurance.

2. Transportation Access

Transportation-wise, rural communities are far underserved. They have fewer bus routes, and trains are not an option for many. Emergency travel is virtually impossible in most of these areas as it can take days or weeks before a bus turns up. Fewer non-urban households own a car, and private transportation is usually unavailable. 

Poor road networks and the lack of a proper public transport system can impact access to rural health services. Many people are unable to go to medical appointments or buy prescription drugs at the nearest pharmacy on time. This inconvenience makes rural life much more difficult for people with disabilities and the elderly. Such individuals are unable to access transportation as frequently as needed to keep up with any prescribed treatment. Delaying medical care can cause unnecessary mental and physical pain and worsen health conditions.

3. Less Education Resources

Many children in rural areas do not get the same educational resources and support as their urban counterparts. Their schools may not always attract the best teachers in the country, impacting certain aspects of learning. As most educators prefer the comforts of urban living, some rural schools are understaffed, often compromising education standards. 

Due to understaffing, schools may not always offer a rich and varied curriculum catering to students’ unique interests and learning abilities. Their locations are usually cut off from cutting-edge learning technologies, such as internet-powered virtual classes, eBooks, and eLearning platforms. They also may not receive the same funding as larger school districts.

4. Isolation

Rural living can cause social and geographic isolation. Without proper road networks and public transportation systems, individuals and families live detached from much of the technologically advanced urban world. Socially, relatives stay disconnected due to poor communication and transport infrastructure in their respective locations. Reaching out to distant friends or family members on video can be difficult because of limited broadband access.

With no nearby friends or relatives to talk to or recreational parks to interact and unwind, stress can easily have an impact. Socially-detached people can suffer from serious health problems like heart disease, depression, and hypertension. Due to their geographic isolation, most of the impacted individuals cannot get timely medical help. Coordination of care among practitioners working and living in different rural locations can be equally difficult.       

5. Mental Health

The hardships of rural living usually have serious mental health ramifications. Unemployment, poverty, and financial distress can trigger or aggravate some psychological issues, including stress, anxiety, and depression. The following factors increase the prevalence of mental problems in rural communities:

• Limited access to psychiatric care, including counseling and other mental health services 
• Inability to cope with unemployment, poverty, and financial distress, all of which are prevalent in low-economic activity rural areas
• Individuals that do not get a good education in rural areas typically cannot afford health care services; many do not have insurance and cannot afford out-of-pocket costs
• Social isolation in sparsely populated rural areas can cause loneliness and stress  

Rural Living

Rural dwellers often face numerous social-economic challenges that make it difficult to build and lead high-quality lives. The most vulnerable communities consistently grapple with poverty, joblessness, and lack of education. Medical services are hard to come by in the non-urban areas, exacerbating health problems for low-income families.