Public health in the rural United States is a complex and underfunded enterprise. While urban–rural disparities have been a focus for researchers and policymakers alike for decades, inequalities continue to grow. Life expectancy at birth is now 1 to 2 years greater between wealthier urban and rural counties, and is as much as 5 years, on average, between wealthy and poor counties. This recent article published in the American Journal of Public Health explores the growth in these disparities over the past 40 years and offers 5 population-based “prescriptions” for supporting rural public health in the United States. Read More.
