摘要：Rural America is home to more than 59 million people (USBC 2012). Health and health care issues affect the lives of these many millions of people. While rural residents confront many of the same health issues and health care challenges that their urban counterparts experience, they are often considered a more vulnerable population due to their economic disadvantages, poorer health, and limited health care access. Congress in the Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999 (Public Law 106-129) specified rural residents as one of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) priority populations (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2012). To promote the health of rural residents and communities, the top ten rural-specific health priorities were identified in Rural Healthy People 2020 (Bolin and Bellamy 2012): access to quality health services; diabetes; mental health and mental disorders; nutrition and weight status; heart disease and stroke; substance abuse; physical activity and health; older adults; cancer; and maternal, infant, and child health.
