Volume ten, Issue 1

Are there rural-urban differences for hospitalization in the 30 days before death? This Canadian article examined administrative health records to answer this question and others relating to end-of-life access to health care. Implications for consideration are provided for others who live and work in similar rural areas.

Developing e-health agendas have become commonplace, although a description of the process is not often readily available. This unique article discusses in detail the development of an Aboriginal e-health agenda based on Canadian Aboriginal culture, values and approaches to consensus. It has something to offer all researchers concerned with cultural safety.

Providing acute, 24 hour healthcare services for those in small rural communities is a real challenge. This study offers important data about the type of patients who use such small health units.

Life in the country can be more dangerous than the city. This compelling article highlights how and how many injuries happen in rural communities.

The rural health workforce is in crisis worldwide. This assessment of the influence of curricula type on the practice location of medical and nursing graduates in Uganda adds another element to understanding a complex and concerning global issue.

In the developing world, natural disasters can increase the morbidity of those most economically vulnerable, often rural dwellers and their families. The findings of this study into child abuse and injuries during flooding in Bangladesh calls for effective interventions to break an identified cycle of suffering.

Chronic disease self management programs (CDSMP) have been shown to be effective in improving health and well-being across settings and conditions. But implementing such programs on a small scale in a rural town and in a country without a tradition of CDSMP presents challenges. This paper from rural Western Australia describes the experiences of one such attempt and gives advice to other rural health practitioners, managers and researchers considering similar programs.

Rural women in Turkey have unique characteristics but their low access to specialist health care is common with the rural women of many countries. This study assessed the use of the universally adopted Menopause Rating Scale as a screening tool to assist Turkish primary healthcare providers identify rural women in need of specialist referral for the management of their menopausal symptoms.

Malnutrition among children under 5 years is a tenacious problem in the developing world. The underlying factors are diverse and the consequences long-lasting for malnourished individuals. This Malaysian study looked at causal relationships in child malnutrition and provides useful insights for those designing intervention programs, especially for use in resource-low contexts such as a rural areas.

Are your staff training programs relevant and effective? Or, as this study of rural health worker training found, could better use be made of dedicated resources? Although set in Uganda, the fundamental issues highlighted here will prompt a re-evaluation of training systems and procedures in any rural area.

These authors from New Zealand have reported on selected features and the evaluation of the University of Auckland's first regional-rural medical education program, Pūkawakawa, a 27 week curriculum for year 5 students.

In response to the difficulties posed by distance for New Zealand medical students on rural general practice attachments, a novel system of distance teaching was devised by the Waikato Clinical School.

In the USA, rural residents suffer multiple disadvantages in their access to health care. Is this also true for quality of care? These authors sought the answer to this question by comparing rural and urban primary health carers' blood pressure management of patients with diabetes.

This case report from rural Nigeria discusses an unexpected diagnosis of the parasitic infection trypanosomiasis in an infant with no known exposure to the vector, the notorious Tsetse fly.

Occupational noise injury and hearing loss are a common features of agricultural workforces internationally. In Australia 60-70% of Australian farmers have measurable hearing loss, compared with 27% of the general population, and their families are also affected. With such a level of acquired injury it is astounding that this article is the first report of a community based initiative to specifically address hearing health issues in farming communities.

Mainstream education has consistently undervalued Indigenous knowledge and this can be quite frustrating for educators and students of Aoriginal origin. Has this failure to teach from a broad cultural orientation resulted in the under-representation of Aboriginal persons in health and science occupations? A unique collaborative initiative grew from Canada's University of Lethbridge Support Program for Aboriginal Nursing Students: the 2009 Aboriginal Science Symposium. Academics worldwide interested in developing more inclusive curricula should review the recommendations from this Symposium.

How can Nigeria's critical shortage of rural and remote health personnel be addressed? After years as a public health physician in Africa's most populous nation, this author offers a personal perspective on strategies for change.

This tribute to Dr John A J Macleod (1935-2009), celebrates his service as a dedicated rural Scottish GP and signifiant contributer to the international rural medical community as honorary life member of Wonca.

This letter from Nepal provides further evidence of the need for a multisectorial approach to maternal and, ultimately, child health.

Trauma has been a neglected cause of child mortality in resource-poor rural settings due to the burden of infectious diseases such as HIV. However this letter from rural Uganda suggests that simple preventative measures could reduce the number of injured children.

This letter from a Thai researcher identifies potential differences in rural children's obesity patterns between developed and developing countries.

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This letter argues for changes to the way decisions are made about rural resource allocation in Sub-Saharan Africa.