Suicide is rising drastically, especially in rural parts of the United States, according to a new study. The rate of suicide rose 41% among those ages 25-64 over the past 17 years of data. In addition, suicide rates among people living in rural counties were 25% higher than those in metro areas, NBC News reports. To reduce these inequities, the Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) released a free Rural Suicide Prevention Toolkit. "The modules in the toolkit contain resources and information focused on developing, implementing, evaluating, and sustaining rural suicide prevention programs," RHIhub states on their website.
The Issue of Rural Health Care and Suicide
People who live in rural areas face unique health challenges: Limited access to primary and mental health ...
Rural populations in the United States face unique health disparities because of their distances from health care providers and limited access to resources. There are nearly 3.2 million Latinos that live in rural areas of the country, and for them to receive assistance, programs needed to be implemented to lessen these locational barriers. Lower life expectancies and higher rates of pain and suffering are reported in rural areas by the National Advisory Committee On Rural Health and Human Services. “The Committee is deeply concerned about the gaps between rural and urban life expectancy and mortality that has largely gone unnoticed in the larger discussion about health disparities that tend to focus solely on populations and ignore the geographic aspects of this issue.”
Why ...
Most Americans living in rural communities say they are content with most aspects of their lives; however, two significant concerns stand out: Financial insecurity and the high medical costs. Two surveys, conducted through a partnership between NPR, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, found that 40% of that demographic struggle with healthcare, housing, and food expenses.
Healthcare Access, or Lack There Of
The surveys also found that 26% of rural Americans said they had not received desperately needed medical attention due to their limited budget. However, nine in 10 respondents did report having health insurance. An increase that is attributed to the implementation Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. A decade ago, this was ...
This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latinos and Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review » Summary
A pattern of Latino migration to small town and rural areas in the Southeast and Midwest instead of to traditional urban centers has led to the formation of isolated, segregated rural Latino communities with unique housing and transportation needs.
The Latino Population Shift: From Urban to Rural
Real estate and transportation trends have shown two prominent residential shifts among Latinos. First of all, in urban areas, Latinos are living farther from transport hubs and amenities, where housing is more affordable. Secondly, a large number of Latinos are migrating into new areas where jobs are available and rents are more affordable, primarily to ...
In 2017, the CDC revealed that drug overdose fatalities are continually rising in rural communities, even surpassing rates in urban areas. Additionally, the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the American Farm Bureau Federations (AFBF) discovered that the opioid epidemic has directly impacted as many as 74% of farmers. Latinos make up roughly 23% of the agriculture industry, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics, and opioid use is on the rise in this demographic. “Opioids have been too easy to come by and too easy to become addicted to,” AFBF president Zippy Duvall said in a statement. “And because opioid addiction is a disease, it’s up to all of us to help people who suffer from it and help them find the treatment they need.”
What Are Opioids?
These drugs voyage through ...
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a partnership to create addiction recovery transitional housing in rural communities. This is welcome news, as Latino and rural resident opioid overdoses rise across the nation. Particularly, Latino mortality rates for opioid overdoses rose 52.5% from 2014 to 2016. This is compared to a 45.8% rise among whites. “We know that the opioid crisis has hit rural communities hard, and we need to leverage all possible partnerships to support these communities,” Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, said in a press release. “Housing plays a vital part in the recovery process for those living with opioid use disorders.”
USDA ...
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and rates have drastically increased across the country in the last 20 years. Rates are even worse for Latino and all rural residents. From 2001-2015, rural areas have consistently had higher rates of suicide than metropolitan areas. “While we’ve seen many causes of death come down in recent years, suicide rates have increased more than 20 percent from 2001 to 2015. And this is especially concerning in rural areas,” said CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D. “We need proven prevention efforts to help stop these deaths and the terrible pain and loss they cause.” Students at West Virginia University and the University of South Dakota recognized the problem and wanted to be proactive.
Students Making ...
51% of Americans live in child care deserts, in which Latinos are greatly disproportionately affected, according to a new report by the Center for American Progress. Child care deserts are defined as regions where there are no licensed child care providers for kids under the age of 5 and/or there is less than one slot in an accredited child care center for every 3 children under the age of 5.
Latinos and Child Care Deserts
Even though Latinos are the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the US and 25% of kids in the US are Latino, Latino families are more probable to live in regions with scarce child care options, according to the report. 60% of Latinos live in regions that have an undersupply of licensed child care centers. Furthermore, areas where the Latino population are ...
Hospital closures have become the norm in many rural areas. Now, rural pharmacies are headed on the same path, according to a U.S. News Report. Over the past 16 years, 1,231 rural, independently-owned pharmacies have closed. That's 16% of all rural pharmacies. Fewer than 6,400 pharmacies are left in rural communities. Rural communities that had at least one retail (independent, chain, or franchise) pharmacy in March 2003 had no retail pharmacy in March 2018, according to RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis Rural Policy Brief. Residents of rural communities now have to travel great distances for medications and/or turn to mail-order prescriptions that make it impossible for in-person consultation concerning questions about the medication. “Closure of ...
