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1	Women and Healthcare in Appalachia: Impeding Circumstance and the Role of Technology Cano, Ashley 01 May 2016 (has links) For decades, healthcare access and quality in central and southern Appalachia have trailed the rest of the country. Entrenched poverty and low educational attainment compound healthcare problems. This study examines the healthcare obstacles women encounter in southern and central Appalachia and analyzes how technology use, such as Internet searching and social media affect women’s healthcare decisions. Data were analyzed from four focus groups conducted with women from the region. Results indicate that seeing a physician or not did not influence women’s propensity to search the Internet for health-related information or to seek support through social media sites. Additionally, women reported facing many barriers including trust in local physicians, access, availability, cost, and quality of healthcare. These issues often impede women’s access to preventative care and place burdens on their health and an already strained healthcare system. health rural populations Appalachia trust in physicians barriers to healthcare Community-Based Research Community Health Community Health and Preventive Medicine Family, Life Course, and Society Health Information Technology Health Services Research Medicine and Health Rural Sociology Women's Health