INTRODUCTION Depression is the fourth leading cause of the global disease burden, and approximately one in four elderly people may suffer from depression or depressive symptoms. Depression in later life is generally regarded as highly treatable, but under-treatment is still common in this population, especially among those in rural areas where access to healthcare is often an issue. In this stu...

THE GREAT importance of medical auxiliaries in primary medical care and in community health schemes is now being increasingly recognized by those who are involved in the planning of health services for developed and developing countries alike. Schemes employing very large numbers of auxiliaries are already well established in Russia1 and in China.2 The major need for auxiliaries is, in the firs...

As the largest and most widely distributed of primary care physicians, family physicians have an important role in providing mental health care, especially in rural and underserved areas. However, the proportion of family physicians who report providing mental health care is low. Policy barriers such as payment for mental health services should be explored to ensure access to mental health care...

BACKGROUND Globally, access to mental healthcare is often lacking in rural, low-resource settings. Mental healthcare services integration in primary care settings is a key intervention to address this gap. A common strategy includes embedding mental healthcare workers on-site, and receiving consultation from an off-site psychiatrist. Primary care provider perspectives are important for successf...

Rural populations rely on physicians trained in primary care to provide emergency services. Less is known about primary care’s contribution to emergency services in urban and suburban settings. Two-thirds of family medicine and three-fourths of general internal medicine Medicare claims for emergency care are generated in urban settings, demonstrating primary care’s significant contribution to t...

BACKGROUND Underinsured children are covered by private health insurance that does not cover the cost of vaccines, are not entitled to receive publicly purchased vaccines at no cost through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program unless they receive doses at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) or a Rural Health Center (RHC), may be referred by their primary care providers to health depar...

Objective: To clarify the scope of practice on rural islands of Okinawa. Patient: A 59-year-old man presented to our clinic with shortness of breath. He was intubated due to acute respiratory failure caused by severe pneumonia. We could not transfer him owing to bad weather, and had to continue patient care in the clinic for more than 24 hours. Discussion: In remote regions, rural physicians ma...

INTRODUCTON In the USA, area health education centers (AHECs) work to recruit and educate students to serve in medically underserved communities, primary care, and rural settings. One important aspect of their work is connecting students with rural clinical experiences. Within these experiences, AHECs incorporate a community health/socioeconomic experience within the family medicine clerkship t...

This brief describes Medicaid’s role for 52 million nonelderly children and adults living in the most rural areas in the United States and discusses how expansions or reductions in Medicaid could affect rural areas. It shows:  Rural populations face significant challenges to their health care coverage and access. People who live in the most rural counties of America are spread across almost 2,...

INTRODUCTION In rural Australia, general practitioners (GPs) form the frontline for provision of medical services. Besides responsibilities for primary care via private practice, rural doctors often provide emergency and inpatient services for rural hospitals. The aim of this study was to determine access to difficult airway equipment and training among the GP-anaesthetist cadre in rural Austra...