Introduction
Rural women's health is an infinitely broad topic. Women's health
in rural areas affects everything in their environment from their
families to their economies and vice versa. This information guide includes an overview of
the major issues and links to resources on women's
health.
There are nearly 50 million Americans living in non-metropolitan areas (ERS, 2007). A variety of factors, including an older population,
a limited supply of health care providers, and further distances
from health care resources may contribute to special health concerns
for people in non-metropolitan areas. Access to health care and
social services are critical issues for rural women.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tools
CDC - Women's Health
Web site
Features sections for easy access to the latest information and data from around CDC on women's health.
FDA Publications for Women and Their Families
Web site
Provides fact sheets on health topics of interest to women and families. Includes information on medicines, cosmetics, medical conditions and medical procedures.
FDA Women's Health Topics
Web site
Information on women's health topics from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Topics include birth control, breast implants, cosmetics, drugs, diseases, and more.
Girlshealth.gov
Web site
Provides girls between the ages of 10 and 16 reliable, useful information on the health issues they will face as they become young women, and tips on handling relationships with family and friends, at school and at home.
Knowledge Paths Index
Web site
Resources and tools of new developments and research on maternal and child health-related topics. Includes links to Web sites, electronic publications, databases, and discussion groups, and citations for journal articles and other print resources.
Medicine Charts from the Office of Women's Health
Web site
A series of drug charts that provide reliable, easy-to-read information about Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medicines for specific health problems.
MedlinePlus: Women's Health Topics
Web site
Health information on a variety of women's health topics.
National Women's Health Information Center
Web site
Provides free, reliable health information for women via web site and toll-free call center: 1-800-994-9662.
National Women's Health Resource Center
Web site
The Healthy Women web site includes information on women's health topics and news on women's health issues.
Physical Activity and Healthy Eating for Rural Young and Adult Women
Web site
Resources to encourage women living in rural areas to increase current levels of physical activity, healthy eating, and communication with their health care providers to set goals for behavioral changes.
Quick Health Data Online
Database
Women's health statistics, covering topics like demographics, health care access, maternal health, mental health, and more. Includes national, regional, state and county-level data.
Rural Health Research: Maternal and child health
Web site
Provides summaries of current and completed rural health research projects and related publications addressing the topic of maternal and child health, produced by the Office of Rural Health Policy's funded rural health research centers.
Rural Health Research: Women
Web site
Provides summaries of current and completed rural health research projects and related publications addressing the topic of women, produced by the Office of Rural Health Policy's funded rural health research centers.
Rural Women's Health Project
Web site
Develops community-based educational materials focused on the health issues of rural women and their families, with a special emphasis on the challenges faced by Spanish-speaking farmworking families.
Women's Health USA 2007
Web site
Contains a collection of current and historical data on some of the most pressing health challenges facing women, their families, and their communities. Includes updated and detailed women's and minority health data and maps available at the State and county level and by age, race/ethnicity, and sex.
Regulations, Forms & Other Useful Documents
Cesarean Section Rates in Rural Hospitals
Author(s): Sandra Greene, George Holmes, Rebecca Slifkin, Victoria Freeman, Hilda Ann Howard
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center (Cecil G. Sheps Center)
Examines delivery patterns in rural hospitals and compares the C-section
rate in rural hospitals to that in urban hospitals using the Nationwide Inpatient
Sample (NIS).
Date: 03 / 2005
Health Status: Special Populations
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
Provides health-related statistics in text and graph form of the U.S. immigrant population. Results compare male to female, rural to urban, and native to non-native born.
Date: 2003
Older Women and Poverty in Rural America
Author(s): Carolyn Rogers
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Overview of poverty levels and related issues for older rural women.
Journal citation: Amber Waves
Date: 09 / 2005
Rural Low Income Women's Struggles and Strength: A Call to Change
Author(s): Juliana Plumb, Bonnie Braun
Identifies ways in which rural women's roles as partner, mother, and female citizen impact their lives. The most significant factors emerging from the analysis included: employment, child support, childcare, food security, and emotional well-being.
Journal citation: Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences Volume 6
Date: 2007
Rural Women with Disabilities and Depression, Part One: Characteristics and Treatment Patterns
Author(s): Rosemary Hughes
Sponsoring organization: Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities
An analysis of a study testing the effectiveness of a peer-led depression self-management intervention for rural women with physical disabilities.
Date: 07 / 2007
Rural/Frontier Women's Access to Health Services
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
Policy brief addressing women's access to health services in rural areas. Topics covered include access to maternal and child health, family planning, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, aging, and mental health services.
Date: 11 / 2005
State of the World's Mothers 2006: Saving the Lives of Mothers and Newborns
Sponsoring organization: Save the Children
Discusses the cycle of poverty. States that education, including improving a child's ability to read, is the single most important way to help children gain the skills and confidence they need to break the cycle of poverty and make a better life for themselves. Rural America mentioned on page 38 (40 of 58).
Date: 05 / 2006
Trends in Cervical and Breast Cancer Screening Practices Among Women in Rural and Urban Areas of the United States (Final Report)
Author(s): Mark P. Doescher, J. Elizabeth Jackson
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Reports on trends in breast cancer screening practices. Participation in mammography improved nationally, but women living in rural locations remained less likely to receive this test than those living in urban settings.
Date: 08 / 2008
Women and Health Coverage: The Affordability Gap
Author(s): Elizabeth M. Patchias, Judy Waxman
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
Identifies the challenges and barriers women experience to becoming insured for health coverage.
Date: 04 / 2007
Women's Health USA 2007
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
Highlights emerging issues and trends in women’s health. Provides data and information on autoimmune diseases, gynecological and reproductive disorders, and digestive disorders plus more. Provides readers with a collection of current and historical data on health challenges facing women, their families, and their communities.
Date: 11 / 2007
Journals
MCH Alert
Provides timely reference to research, findings, policy developments, recently released publications, new programs, and initiatives affecting the maternal and child health (MCH) community. This is a free, weekly electronic newsletter.
Organizations
American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM)
National organization
Promotes the health and well-being of women and infants within their families and communities.
FDA Office of Women's Health
Federal government
Serves as a champion for women's health both within and outside the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
HRSA Office of Women's Health
Federal government
Coordinates women's activities across more than 80 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) programs.
Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB)
Federal government
Works to assure the health of American mothers and children. Part of the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
National Community Centers of Excellence in Women's Health (CCOE)
National organization
Designed to integrate, coordinate, and strengthen linkages between programs and activities that are already underway in the community to enhance services available to women and to reduce fragmentation in women's health services.
National Rural/Frontier Women's Health Coordinating Centers (RFCC)
Federal government
Identifies and coordinates a network of existing resources to provide a full range of appropriate health services to women and their families in rural and frontier communities.
Office on Women's Health (OWH)
Federal government
Coordinates women's health efforts in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to eliminate disparities in health status. Supports educational programs that encourage women to take personal responsibility for their own health and wellness.
Society for Women's Health Research
Academic/Research
Works to improve the health of women through research.
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Federal government
Protects the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age five by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.
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