BACKGROUND Asthma prevalence is generally lower in rural locations with some indication of an urban-rural gradient. However, among children with asthma, certain rural exposures thought to protect against the development of asthma could aggravate the condition. We examined childhood asthma prevalence and related conditions along an urban-rural gradient and also examined the characteristics of th...

This study examines the effect of 13 strategic management activities on the financial performance of a national sample of 797 U.S. rural hospitals during the period of 1983-1988. Controlled for environment-market, geographic-region, and hospital-related variables, the results show almost no measurable effect of strategic adoption on rural hospital profitability and liquidity. Where statisticall...

Perinatal mortality is high in rural hospitals in South Africa. In part this is due to less than optimal care. This study determined the perinatal mortality experienced by a rural hospital and its clinics. Avoidable causes of death are described and various intervention strategies that effectively and rapidly prevented such deaths, reducing perinatal mortality by one-third, are outlined.

Morocco is currently about to start reducing industrial protection in the context of its association agreement with the European Union. However, agriculture, which represents the major income source for the disfavored rural population, is the sector that is most strongly protected. In this study, a general equilibrium model of Morocco is used as a laboratory for analyzing the short-run equilibr...

Containing an epidemic at its origin is the most desirable mitigation. Epidemics have often originated in rural areas, with rural communities among the first affected. Disease dynamics in rural regions have received limited attention, and results of general studies cannot be directly applied since population densities and human mobility factors are very different in rural regions from those in ...

Context. Evident change in nutrition and lifestyle among individuals of urban and rural areas raises suspicion for similar change in tribal area population of India. Aim. To study the biochemical risk factor for CVDs in rural and tribal population of Sub-Himalayan state of India. Settings and Design. Cross-sectional study in rural (low altitude) and tribal (high altitude) area of Himachal Prade...

The main objective of the study was the analysis of types, causes and consequences of head injuries among patients treated in the Ward for Multi-Organ Injuries during the period 1999-2002. The study aimed at the recognition of the health situation and selected demographic traits of people who had sustained head injuries. The authors' research tool - a Scientific-Research Protocol - was applied ...

human settlements experience continual change. in recent years, many rural areas have experienced dispersed grow (rural sprawl) and population declines in traditional village centers (hollowing). these paradoxical phenomena have occurred in most developing countries, including rural iran. this study examines this phenomena in three iranian villages of kahak area of qom province, and develops a ...

PURPOSE This research investigated participation rates in 3 modes of active commuting (AC) and their sociodemographic and physical environmental correlates in rural America. METHODS The 2000 Census supplemented with other data sets were used to analyze AC rates in percentage of workers walking, biking, and taking public transportation to work in 14,209 nonmetropolitan rural tracts identified ...