BACKGROUND Adequate access to primary care emergency centers is particularly important in rural areas isolated from urban centers. However, variability in utilization of emergency services located in primary care centers among inhabitants of nearby geographical areas is understudied. The objectives of this study are twofold: 1) to analyze the association between the availability of municipal em...

BACKGROUND This study analyses the association between rurality and local rate of avoidable hospitalizations in a Spanish region with high population dispersion. METHODS Ecological study using a municipality in the region of Castile and Leon (Spain) as the spatial unit of analysis. The variables used to operationalize rurality included the following: distance to hospital, population density, ...

PURPOSE To conduct an assessment of rural environmental pollution sources and associated population mortality rates. METHODS The design is a secondary analysis of county-level data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Agriculture, National Land Cover Dataset, Energy Information Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US Census, and others. We d...

BACKGROUND The majority of existing studies of obesity risk among Canadian children come from urban populations. The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of obesity in a sample of rural Ontario children. METHODS Measures of height and weight were obtained for 504 children attending seven public elementary schools in Grey and Bruce Counties, a predominantly rural area of Southern ...

BACKGROUND Maternal mortality is related to obstetric complications in pregnancy some of which could be revealed by obstetric sonography. Obstetric sonography has become part of routine antenatal care in both urban and rural settings. The objective of the study was to assess the utilization of obstetric sonography in a rural hospital of Uganda, including the frequency and appropriateness of its...

the inappropriate space distribution of rural services causes many problems, including loss of adoptness, and unfair distribution of services according to the existing capacities. in this research, the studied region is “dehdez” zone of “izeh” province,”khuzestan” state. the goal of the present paper is to prpvide an optimal and ideal location finding of rural services centers in dehdez zone, i...

rapid population increase, expanding urbanization, lack of employment opportunities, particularly in agriculture, population pressure on natural resources and failing to create and expand medium and large industries, especially in developing countries led industrialization strategy that these countries from the mid-decade villages 1970 in their development programs to consider. this year emphas...

In this paper a step-by-step approach is presented for the adoption of technologies designed to exploit hybrid renewable (solar, wind, biomass and small hydro) energy Systems at the rural level. It is centered around the establishment of rural energy centers to improve the basic living environment. In due course, the role of these centers is to be expanded to encompass agricultural, domestic, t...

BACKGROUND Rural African American women receive less frequent mammography screening and die of breast cancer at a higher rate than is seen in the general population. To overcome this disparity, it is necessary to assist rural providers in their efforts to influence women to obtain screening. METHOD This study examined the feasibility of using distance education to disseminate knowledge about ...