OBJECTIVE The availability of mental health services in rural areas--particularly intensive services such as assertive community treatment (ACT)--has been of increasing concern and was the focus of this study. In recent decades the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has developed a national network of ACT-like programs called mental health intensive case management (MHICM), which have ser...

BACKGROUND Urban living affects children's nutrition and growth, which are determinants of their survival, cognitive development, and lifelong health. Little is known about urban-rural differences in children's height and weight, and how these differences have changed over time. We aimed to investigate trends in children's height and weight in rural and urban settings in low-income and middle-i...

INTRODUCTION Lower levels of physical activity among rural relative to urban residents have been suggested as an important contributor to rural-urban health disparity; however, empirical evidence is sparse. METHODS We examined rural-urban differences in 4 objective physical activity measures (2 intensity thresholds by 2 bout lengths) and 4 subjective measures (total, leisure, household, and t...

Many communities in Mozambique fi nd themselves in the rural-urban interface, either Many communities in Mozambique fi nd themselves in the rural-urban interface, either by being small towns or rural areas in the vicinity of cities. There is growing evidence by being small towns or rural areas in the vicinity of cities. There is growing evidence that the households and individuals who manage to...

BACKGROUND Regular physical examination contributes to early detection and timely treatment, which is helpful in promoting healthy behaviors and preventing diseases. The objective of this study is to compare the annual physical examination (APE) use between rural and urban elderly in China. METHODS A total of 3,922 participants (60+) were randomly selected from three urban districts and three...

Objective To assess rural – urban differences in electronic medical record (EMR) adoption among office-based physician practices in the U.S. Methods Survey data on over 270,000 office-based physician sites (representing over 1,280,000 physicians) in the U.S. collected by SK&A Information Services in 2012 was used to assess differences in EMR adoption rates between practices in rural and urban a...

OBJECTIVES To examine perceived communication barriers between urban consultants and rural family physicians practising routine and emergency care in remote subarctic Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). DESIGN This study used a mixed-methods design. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through exploratory surveys, comprised of closed and open-ended questions. The quantitative data was...

BACKGROUND Despite economic growth and improved health outcomes over the past few decades, China still experiences striking urban-rural health inequalities. Urban and rural residents distinguished by the hukou system may experience profound disparities because of institutional effect. The aim of this study is to estimate trends in urban-rural disparities in self-care, outpatient care, and inpat...

Nutrient inputs from rivers play an important role in lake eutrophication. To compare the forms characteristics of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in rivers flowing through rural and urban areas, water samples were collected seasonally from five urban rivers and six rural rivers flowing to Lake Chaohu, China. Higher total phosphorus (TP), particulate phosphorus (PP), soluble reactive phosphorus...

OBJECTIVE Investigate differences in the infectious aetiology, health seeking behaviour, and provider practices with regard to diarrhoeal illness among children presenting to urban versus rural clinics in Western Kenya. DESIGN Laboratory-based, passive surveillance. SETTING The urban portion of the study was conducted at the paediatric outpatient clinic of Nyanza Provincial Hospital in Kisu...