The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and prioritize the mental health needs of rural communities in Texas Public Health Region 11 utilizing the Delphi method. Rural individuals face unique challenges when attempting to receive treatment for serious mental illness and mental health care. Stigma, a lack of privacy when seeking…

Young adolescents, age 10-15 years, have increasing psychosocial and biomedical health care needs, yet are some of the lowest users of conventional health services. In eastern North Carolina, school-based health centers (SBHCs) provide primary health care to thousands of school-age children in the most rural, medically underserved areas. SBHCs…

Addresses and team reports from an inter-regional seminar which examined aspects of primary health care in China are presented. Background information about the seminar is given along with an introduction to rural health services in China. The report considers four key issues: China's three-level health care network; involvement of the people;…

One of the most neglected consumer groups has been the migrant and rural poor populations scattered through the farming regions of the country. The Colorado Migrant Health Program is a valuable means of providing primary health services to migrant farmworkers. (JN)

Problems of access to health care facing Appalachia mountain communities are confounded by unemployment, poverty, low education, and local religious beliefs that barrier people from receiving medical care. This proceedings addresses the issues related to health access and health needs. It contains 20 papers and 12 synopses of presentation. The…

Emphasizing primary care, this handbook focuses on the application of specific types of telecommunications technology to the process of information exchange within a rural health care system. Its purpose is to provide guidance to health care planners who want to consider the potential of telecommunications technology for improving quality,…

Supports renewed funding of the Appalachian Regional Commission's (ARC) "finish-up health plan" and "highway finish-up program." Discusses at length the need for primary care services, prevention of infant mortality, and the lack of physicians in Appalachia, and how the ARC plans can affect these needs. (LC)

Most of the world's rapidly expanding aging population is in rural areas of developing countries. Geriatric training programs should include social, economic, and psychological aspects of aging as well as medical, and should focus on enabling primary health caregivers to care for older people in their environments. Efforts to provide rural…

Supporting the premise that rural communities require functioning health care systems for their physiological, emotional, and economic well-being, the First Statewide Legislative Symposium on Rural Development defined problems and established goals for rural health care in New York. Despite increases in New York's overall physician supply during…

A Critical Health Manpower Shortage Area (CHMSA) is a medical service area that has inadequate opportunities for access to medical care, mostly primary care (the first line encounter which diagnoses and treats sick or injured people). Most CHMSA's are located far from large population centers. Six hundred seventy three CHMSA's are found in…

Nonmetropolitan and totally rural areas have greater unmet health needs and fewer health resources than urban areas. Blacks, American Indians, migrants, and Appalachians have specialized rural health care needs as a result of cultural isolation, poverty, and discrimination. The reversal of the rural to urban population migration has increased the…

The Children's Budget is a comprehensive report on funding for children's services in Colorado. This report provides a six- year funding history for more than 50 programs funded with state, local, and federal dollars. The Colorado Children's Budget analyzes reductions in programs and services during the economic downturn. The data in the…