Background: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine for healthcare delivery was uncommon. Medicare restricted routine fee-for-service reimbursements for rural patients, with payments made under restricted circumstances. In response to the pandemic, the Department of HHS amended the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental…

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of age, historical change, and gender on perceptions of mental health and mental health services. Using multidimensional measures to assess such perceptions among older adults (1977, 1991, 2000), and younger adults (1991, 2000), we expected that older adults would have less positive mental health…

Although rural Texas residents have some access to medical care, it is often limited by poverty, lack of health insurance or coverage under public programs, cultural barriers, racial discrimination, and limited education. It is inaccurate to say that rural residents receive health care if health is defined in terms of environmental, physical,…

Although there exists in the minds of urban Texans the myth that rural life is especially healthy, in fact the mental and physical health of rural Texans is markedly worse than that of urban Texans. If health is defined in terms of environmental, physical, mental, and social factors, it is inaccurate to say that rural residents are receiving…

The size of Texas and the distribution of its population result in service delivery, economic, educational, transportation, communication, and health problems. Texas is the second largest state in the nation, is third largest in population, has a population growing at a faster rate than the national average, and is a primarily rural state--20% of…