People living in rural America face unique social circumstances that often prevent them from achieving optimal health status. Economic instability significantly contributes to higher rates of chronic disease and poor mental health among rural residents. The social conditions associated with rurality are gendered with rural women bearing the brunt of social and psychosocial detriments to their health. Income, education, role responsibilities, living circumstances and personal and community health resources are among the main areas challenging rural women today. The psychosocial stressors that result from the demands of rural life affect rural womens mental health, functioning and behavior. Considering the social context of individual rural areas in the light of health behavior interventions is essential to increasing their potential effectiveness. Health campaigns targeting smoking, nutrition and physical activity- chronic disease risk factors- can no longer be indifferent to social circumstances. Without recognition of the unique social context and experiences of rural women, the solutions implemented to meet health care needs in rural areas have little hope of achieving success. The examination of rural social contextual factors is of utmost importance and public health significance as intervening to improve social circumstances may result in decreased incidence of some diseases in rural women.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04092009-141655 |
| Date | 29 June 2009 |
| Creators | Talmadge, Meghan Renee |
| Contributors | Linda Robertson, DrPH, Martha Ann Terry, PhD, Patricia Documet, MD, DrPH, Jeanette Trauth, PhD |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04092009-141655/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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