People living in rural areas have long had difficulty accessing health care, a situation usually attributed to a lack of nearby care providers. But a new study suggests the problem also lies in the financial, cultural and interpersonal challenges many rural residents face when they seek care, especially for chronic conditions.
The authors found four major “analytic themes,” and accompanying challenges, associated with the patients’ attempts to obtain care for their chronic conditions. They identified these as:
1. Navigating the rural environment
2. Navigating the health care system
3. Financing disease management
4. Rural life
