'Investigating the feasibility of promoting and sustaining delivery of cardiac rehabilitation in a rural community. Rural residents often miss out on cardiac rehabilitation programs. This pilot program report demonstrates that it is possible to conduct such a program in a rural area by accessing local social capital - and that the results may extend well beyond the benefits to participants. Rural ande Remote Health Journal, Jan 2012

'Collaboration: developing integration in multi-purpose services in rural New South Wales, Australia. Fear, trust and suspicion - common human emotions that can de-rail or contribute to the success of integrating separate rural health services to improve health outcomes in the local community. This small study, one of the first to investigate local perspectives on Australia's Multi-purpose Service Program, suggests that negotiation can sometimes save the day. Rural and Remote Health Journal , Dec 2011

'Does rural residence limit access to mental health services?' Does rural living limit access to mental health services? This thought-provoking article analyzed the Canadian Community Health Survey, Mental Health & Well-being data cycle to find out. Rural and Remote Helath Journal, Oct 2011

'Parkinson's disease in regional Australia Rural living is a significant risk factor for the neurodegenerative disorder Parkinson's disease. However, rural patients are often disadvantaged by reduced access to disease-specific care. This small, unique study from one rural Australian area gives voice to the person with Parkinson's and their personal and professional carers as a microcosm of a widespread but largely silent group. Rural and Remote Health Journal, Oct 2011

Self-care ability among home-dwelling older people in rural areas in southern Norway Bjørge Dale ved Senter for omsorgsforskning , Universitetet i Agder, har samlet spørreskjema fra 1050 eldre (alder 65+) i 5 fylker og funnet at 240 hadde lavere "Self-care ability" enn forventet. Evnen til selvhjelp hang tett sammen med blant annet helserelaterte problemer, bruk av profesjonell hjelp, ernæringstilstand, mental helse, tidligere yrke og boligtype. Sand J caring Sci, Aug 2011

 

'Patient perspectives on health, health needs, and health care services in a rural Irish community: a qualitative study We all know it does people good - but the health benefits of living in a rural community are hard to define, and even harder to quantify. This small qualitative study of consecutive GP patients in Ireland provides a wealth of information to stimulate reflection. Rural and Remote Helath Journal, Aug 2011

A conceptual model of suicide in rural areas'  Finding an approach to reducing rural suicide can seem an overwhelming task, with the large available literature just the first issue to tackle. If this is a professional concern of yours, look no further than this new literature review, which also offers a unique 'Conceptual model of rural suicide'. The model has the potential to help identify precise points for intervention that are unique to individual rural localities, making this article a 'must-read' for academic researchers, rural service-planners and healthcare staff in any rural location. Rural and remote Health Journal. June 2011

'Developing rural palliative care: validating a conceptual model' Rural residents want to remain in their home communities for end-of-life care, however providing palliative care in rural areas is an exercise in managing limited infrastructure and resources. This article offers a solution by focusing on community capacity development as the basis for a rural palliative care model. The authors detail the process of model development.
Rural and Remote Helath Journal, May 2011

'Colorectal cancer screening in rural and remote areas: analysis of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program data for South Australia' With the incidence of colorectal cancer rising across populations, these authors analysed Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) data for rural and remote South Australia, seeking factors and characteristics that impact on the uptake of voluntary screening. Although the findings are geographically specific, they are essential reading for health planners, policymakers and all others interested in the epidemiology of this high mortality disease. Rural and Remote Helath Journal, May 2011

'Breastfeeding prevalence and distribution in the USA and Appalachia by rural and urban setting' The benefits of breastfeeding have long been established, but breastfeeding prevalence varies and some rural areas continue to lag behind. This article presents a secondary data analysis regarding breastfeeding rates in rural and urban US Applachia, with recommendations for care implications and future research.
Rural and Remote Health Journal, May 2011

'Evaluation of a dementia training workshop for health and social care staff in rural Scotland' What do rural health and social-care staff need to know about delivering services to people with dementia? The workshop participants from remote Scotland in this short report highlighted some universal themes. Rural and Remote Health Journal, May 2011

'Health decision-making among rural women: physician access and prescription adherence' Rural women are important 'gatekeepers' of health for rural families. Community factors such as access interact with health decisions and the health of the entire rural community. 'Rural Families Speak' and we would do well to listen to what rural women are saying in this multi-state study. RUral and Remote Health Journal, March 2011

'Attitudes of GPs towards Older Adults Psychology Services in the Scottish Highlands What therapies do GPs favour when consulted by older adults with mild to moderate mental health issues? This broad question was tackled in the Scottish Highlands when the researchers investigated a low referral rate to the NHS Older Adults Clinical Psychology service. The results of this local survey will be of interest to those who provide primary care for what can be an underserviced patient group.
Rural and Remote Healt Journal, Febr 2011

'Preferences and intention of rural adolescents toward seeking help for mental health problems Where mental health issues are concerned, a delay in seeking help can mean a poorer outcome. Many mental health problems first appear in adolescence; however, despite recent improvements to Australian youth mental health services, rural adolescents still face barriers to obtaining professional psychological help. This mixed methods Australian study adds to our knowledge of help-seeking among rural adolescents. Rural and Remote Health Journal, Febr 2011

Receipt of preventive counseling among reproductive-aged women in rural and urban communities Is there a disparity in preventive counseling among rural women? This article explores this important issue within the Central Pennsylvania Women's Health Study. Rural and Remote Health Journal, Febr 2011

Rural-urban disparities in the management and health issues of chronic diseases in Quebec (Canada) in the early 2000s.This article offers information about three specific chronic diseases including their incidence and management among the rural population. The investigation is a welcome addition for those keen for greater precision regarding rural health status. Rural and Remote Health Journal, Nov 2010 

'Self-efficacy beliefs and confidence of rural physiotherapists to undertake specialist paediatric caseloads: a paediatric example. When patient needs require rural generalists to venture into specialist areas, professional and ethical issues are raised. This thought-provoking study from Queensland, Australia, reports on a survey of rural physiotherapists who have also provided patient care in the specialist field of paediatrics. The findings raise important questions about the nature of rural and remote practice and its impact on the confidence of generalist health professionals, and also rural patients requiring specialist care.
Rural and Remote Health Journal, Nov 2010

Mixed-method exploratory study of general practitioner and nurse perceptions of a new community based nurse-led heart failure service'. What are GPs' community management issues for chronic heart failure patients in rural and remote Scotland? And has the recent community based nurse-led heart failure service improved care, as intended? These questions and the views of the first Highlands CHF specialist nurses are explored in this postal survey of all Highlands GPs.
 Rural and Remote Health JOurnal, Oct 2010
 

An outbreak of gastroenteritis linked to seafood consumption in a remote Northern Aegean island, February-March 2010' Does eating shellfish live protect against the transmission of pathogens? How is Ash Monday related to an epidemic of gastroenteritis? The answers to these and other questions are provided in this report of a recent public health outbreak investigation on the remote Greek island, Agios Efstratios. The authors describe epidemiological methods that would be useful in any remote setting where the source of an epidemic must be tracked despite limited or absent laboratory support. Rural and Remote Health, Oct 2010

 Improving the skills of rural and remote generalists to manage mental health emergencies The equation's wrong: those who live in rural and remote areas have higher rates of mental illness - but often lack access to specialist mental health services. The Australian Rural Nurses and Midwives identified a need, and took the opportunity to up-skill Australian rural and remote generalists to promote effective management of mental health emergencies locally. This report on the evaluation of the short course 'Managing Mental Health Emergencies' shows how this was done. Rural and Remote Health, sept 2010

'Understanding rural practice: implications for occupational therapy education in Canada' Studies of rural health professionals have been dominated by centralized urban academic perspectives for decades. Not surprisingly studies about rural practice have focused on areas such as lack of health care resources, lack of professional resources, and isolation. Some of these may represent differences in perception as few studies attempt to capture the nature of practice for rural health professionals. There are indications that some of these perceptions are changing. Even definitions of resources, support, isolation, and appropriate training may be changing due to improvements in communication. Occupational therapists in rural Canadian locations may not consider themselves isolated, may not indicate a lack of professional resources, and may not even believe themselves rural or isolated enough to fit study criteria. New studies are needed as rural and remote locations enjoy improved communication technologies and social support. Some therapists indicated potential mismatches of urban-based support and education. Indeed rural providers have had to retool continuing education to fit rural practice needs. Others listed rural advantages related to autonomy, flexible work schedules, teamwork, and the types of patients and problems encountered. Researchers would do well to assume less based on past studies and to focus more on the current Brave New World. Rural and Remote Health Journal, Sept 2010
 

Rurality of communities and incidence of stroke: a confounding effect of weather conditions? We know there are differences in stroke incidence between rural and urban residents. If so, what can explain this gap? Could it be as simple as the weather? The report of this Japanese cohort study has something interesting to say about the weather and strokes among rural women in Japan. Rural and Remote Helath Journal, sept 2010

Mental health collaborative care: a synopsis of the Rural and Isolated Toolkit This article discusses an innovative Rural and Isolated mental health toolkit for use by mental healthcare services throughout rural and isolated Canada. There is much of interest here for those providing similar services in North America. Rural and remote heath Journal, august 2010

Major incidents in rural areas: managing a pandemic A/H1N1/2009 cluster The potential of swine flu to spread rapidly challenges rural public health management, where such resource-heavy tasks as contact tracing and case tracking must be spread among available staff. These authors show it can be done effectively. They share the lessons of their successful containment of a recent pandemic A/H1N1/2009 cluster in the remote Scottish Highland. Rural and Remote Health journal, august 2010

Obstacles faced by general practitioners in Loreto Department, Peru in pursuing residency training Impoverished areas in rural locales around the world struggle with an insufficient number of healthcare professionals. This article discusses a residency training program in Loreto, providing a Peruvian perspective on this global issue. Rural and Remote Health Journal, Aug 2010

The Station Community Mental Health Centre Inc: nurturing and empowering  Consumer-driven community mental health services play an important role in the recovery of rural people with mental illness. At best they capture the essence of a rural community's concern for the wellbeing of its members. They overcome the power differential between health professionals and patients/clients. While information about the benefits and limitations of such services in rural Australia is scarce, this article makes a start by reporting the evaluation of The Station Inc, in South Australia. Rural and Remote Health Journal, Aug 2010

'GP Proceduralists: 'the hidden heart' of rural and regional health in Australia Back in the 1970s when the Australian rural GP's role was procedurally broad, singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell warned 'you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone'. In the decades that followed, the rural GP's role contracted - or so this research found when it examined the 'the hidden heart' of Australian rural health (the GP proceduralist workforce) and found it to be peril. Rural and Remote Health Journal , Aug 2010
 

Rural vs Urban hospital performance in a 'competitive' public health service The results show that rural and urban hospitals perform similarly in the efficiency dimension, whereas rural hospitals perform significantly better than urban hospitals in the patient satisfaction dimension. When the two dimensions are considered jointly, some rural hospitals are found to be the best performers. As such, market-driven reforms do not necessary result in a difference in the performance of rural and urban hospitals.

Relationships between income inequality and health: a study on rural and urban regions of Canada'When the Canadian Community Health Survey was used to test the relative income hypothesis as it relates to health status among rural and urban Canadians there were some surprising findings. This article has significant policy implications for public health. Rural and Remote Health Journal, juni 2010

Rural/urban differences in health care utilization and place of death for persons with respiratory illness in the last year of life.This retrospective, cohort study focused on healthcare utilization or location of death for rural persons with respiratory illnesses. Among other information, readers will find out which factors were different for rural and urban residents with this type of illness. Rural and Remote Helath Journal, mai 2010

Breast cancer stage at diagnosis and geographic access to mammography screening (New Hampshire, 1998-2004) For rural residents the world over, access and equity are prognostic considerations for cancer survival. This large-scale study from New Hampshire USA asks the question: is geographic access to mammography screening related to a woman's late or early stage at breast cancer diagnosis? The authors examine the evidence, including the contribution of age, health insurance status and seasonal influence. Rural and Remote Health Journal, mai 2010

En medisin for distriktene
P Stensland E Vestbø E Swensen
Distriktsmedisin er en faglig og menneskelig utfordrende del av medisinen. Vi trenger innspill som bidrar til klarere beskrivelser og bærende ideer for utvikling av faget. Kommentar i Tidsskrift for Den norske legeforening, 2005 

'Comparison of HTN management in patients with diabetes between rural and urban primary care clinics in Northeastern Colorado - a report from SNOCAP' In the USA, rural residents suffer multiple disadvantages in their access to health care. Is this also true for quality of care? These authors sought the answer to this question by comparing rural and urban primary health carers' blood pressure management of patients with diabetes. Rural and Remote Health Journal, februar 2010 

'Justifying local empowerment to address rural-urban health inequalities in Sub-Saharan Africa'This letter argues for changes to the way decisions are made about rural resource allocation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rural and Remote Health Journal, februar 2010 

'Implementation of a national, nurse-led telephone health service in Scotland: assessing the consequences for remote and rural localities'Global health service reform can have unintended consequences for those in rural and remote areas. This Scottish study of the implementation of a national nurse-led telephone triage system is an interesting addition to the literature. Rural and Remote Health Journal, 2009