TY - JOUR
T1 - Rural population health and aging
T2 - Toward a multilevel and multidimensional research agenda for the 2020s
AU - Jensen, Leif
AU - Monnat, Shannon M.
AU - Green, John J.
AU - Hunter, Lori M.
AU - Sliwinski, Martin J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Support for the development of this commentary was provided by the Inter disciplinary Research Network on Rural Population Health and Aging, which is funded by the National Institute on Aging (grant R24-AG065159). We also acknowledge support from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA (multistate research project W4001, “Social, Economic and Environmental Causes and Consequences of Demographic Change in Rural America”). In addition, this commentary benefited from support provided by the Population Research Institute at Pennsylvania State University (project 5P2CHD041025-19) and the University of Colorado Population Center (projects 2P2CHD066613-06 and 1R21HD098717); these projects were funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Public Health Association Inc.. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/9
Y1 - 2020/9
N2 - The unique health and aging challenges of rural populations often go unnoticed. In fact, the rural United States is home to disproportionate shares of older and sicker people, there are large and growing rural-urban and withinrural mortality disparities, many rural communities are inpopulation decline, and rural racial/ethnic diversity is increasing. Yet rural communities are not monolithic, and although some rural places are characterized by declining health, others have seen large improvements in population health.We draw on these realities to call for new research in five areas. First, research is needed to better describe health disparities between rural and urban areas and, because rural places are not monolithic, across rural America. Second, research is needed on how trends in rural population health and aging are affecting rural communities. Third, research is needed on the ways in which economic well-being and livelihood strategies interact with rural health and aging. Fourth, we need to better understand the health implications of the physical and social isolation characterizing many rural communities. Finally, we argue for new research on the implications of local natural environments and climate change for rural population health and aging.
AB - The unique health and aging challenges of rural populations often go unnoticed. In fact, the rural United States is home to disproportionate shares of older and sicker people, there are large and growing rural-urban and withinrural mortality disparities, many rural communities are inpopulation decline, and rural racial/ethnic diversity is increasing. Yet rural communities are not monolithic, and although some rural places are characterized by declining health, others have seen large improvements in population health.We draw on these realities to call for new research in five areas. First, research is needed to better describe health disparities between rural and urban areas and, because rural places are not monolithic, across rural America. Second, research is needed on how trends in rural population health and aging are affecting rural communities. Third, research is needed on the ways in which economic well-being and livelihood strategies interact with rural health and aging. Fourth, we need to better understand the health implications of the physical and social isolation characterizing many rural communities. Finally, we argue for new research on the implications of local natural environments and climate change for rural population health and aging.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089424062&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85089424062&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2105/AJPH.2020.305782
DO - 10.2105/AJPH.2020.305782
M3 - Article
C2 - 32673118
AN - SCOPUS:85089424062
SN - 0090-0036
VL - 110
SP - 1328
EP - 1331
JO - American Journal of Public Health
JF - American Journal of Public Health
IS - 9
ER -