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Rural Background (rural + background)
Selected AbstractsRecruiting and Retaining Physicians in Very Rural AreasTHE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2010Carolyn M. Pepper PhD Abstract Context: Recruiting and retaining physicians is a challenge in rural areas. Growing up in a rural area and completing medical training in a rural area have been shown to predict decisions to practice in rural areas. Little is known, though, about factors that contribute to physicians' decisions to locate in very sparsely populated areas. Purpose: In this study, we investigated whether variables associated with rural background and training predicted physicians' decisions to practice in very rural areas. We also examined reasons given for plans to leave the study state. Methods: Physicians in the State of Wyoming (N = 693) completed a questionnaire assessing their background, current practice, and future practice plans. Findings: Being raised in a rural area and training in nearby states predicted practicing in very rural areas. High malpractice insurance rates predicted planning to move one's practice out of state rather than within state. Conclusions: Rural backgrounds and training independently predict practice location decisions, but high malpractice rates are the most crucial factor in future plans to leave the state. [source] Original article: Atopy and asthma in rural Poland: a paradigm for the emergence of childhood respiratory allergies in EuropeALLERGY, Issue 4 2007B. Sozanska Background:, We hypothesized that, in south-west Poland, a ,rural' protective effect on atopy and respiratory allergies would be most pronounced among children but that at all ages would be stronger among those with a rural background. Methods:, A cross-sectional survey of the inhabitants (age >5 years, n = 1657) of Sobotka, a town of 4000 people in south-west Poland: and seven neighbouring villages. We measured and analysed responses to skin prick tests (atopy) and to a standard questionnaire (asthma and hayfever). Results:, Atopy was very uncommon (7%) among villagers at all ages but not among townspeople (20%, P < 0.001); the differences were most marked among those aged under 40 years. Asthma and hayfever were similarly distributed, both being very rare among villagers. The differences appear to be explained by the cohort effect of a communal move away from rural life. This interpretation is supported by an ecological correlation (, = ,0.59) between rural populations and childhood wheeze in 22 European countries. Conclusion:, The very striking differences in the prevalence of allergy between these two neighbouring communities of central Europe reflect the pan-continental population movements that may have been responsible for the emergence of childhood allergies in Europe. [source] Childhood conditions and education as determinants of adult height and obesity among Greenland InuitAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010P. Bjerregaard Height and obesity are risk factors for cardiovascular disease and other physical and mental health conditions. Their association with childhood socioeconomic position has been demonstrated in studies among European and a few third world populations. In a random sample of adult Greenland Inuit (N = 2302) we studied the association between childhood socioeconomic conditions and height as well as prevalence of obesity (BMI , 30) in a cross sectional design. In block recursive graphical independence models, height was associated with mother's place of birth, birth cohort, childhood residence, alcohol problems in childhood home, and education among both men and women. Obesity was associated with mother's place of birth (for men) and with alcohol problems (for women). In General Linear Models, men with an all rural background and no education beyond primary school measured on average 165.1 cm compared with 172.1 cm for men with an all urban background (P < 0.001); women measured 153.9 and 161.1 cm (P < 0.001). Rural-urban differences in prevalence of obesity were not statistically significant. The height differences were considerably larger than between educational groups in European countries and of the same order of magnitude as those reported between men from the 17th century and men from 400 BC in the European and Mediterranean region. The rural-urban gradient in height follows the socioeconomic gradient and may negatively affect cardiovascular risk among the rural Greenlanders, while their physically active lifestyle and high consumption of n-3 fatty acids may counteract this. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Recruiting and Retaining Physicians in Very Rural AreasTHE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2010Carolyn M. Pepper PhD Abstract Context: Recruiting and retaining physicians is a challenge in rural areas. Growing up in a rural area and completing medical training in a rural area have been shown to predict decisions to practice in rural areas. Little is known, though, about factors that contribute to physicians' decisions to locate in very sparsely populated areas. Purpose: In this study, we investigated whether variables associated with rural background and training predicted physicians' decisions to practice in very rural areas. We also examined reasons given for plans to leave the study state. Methods: Physicians in the State of Wyoming (N = 693) completed a questionnaire assessing their background, current practice, and future practice plans. Findings: Being raised in a rural area and training in nearby states predicted practicing in very rural areas. High malpractice insurance rates predicted planning to move one's practice out of state rather than within state. Conclusions: Rural backgrounds and training independently predict practice location decisions, but high malpractice rates are the most crucial factor in future plans to leave the state. [source] Influences on medical students' decisions to study at a rural clinical schoolAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 5 2008Ryan J. Spencer Abstract Objective:,To identify factors that influenced medical students at Monash University to undertake their first year of clinical training (third year of the medical course) at a rural clinical school (RCS). Design:,Third-year Monash University medical students undertaking clinical placements at a RCS were surveyed in 2005. A semistructured questionnaire was used to ask students to rate the influence of a list of factors on their decision to undertake their year-long placement at a RCS. Results:,Under half (48%) of students studying at an RCS reported that they were of rural background. All surveyed items were identified as having had a positive influence. Greater clinical experience, learning opportunities and patient access were identified as having the greatest positive influence followed closely by free accommodation and other financial and supportive incentives. Future rural career intention was eight times more likely to be a positive influence in rural compared with urban background students. Conclusion:,The most important positive influence on Monash third-year medical students' decision to study at an RCS is the perception of high-quality clinical experiences and education. This perception arises from rural exposure during pre-clinical years. [source] Where is the evidence that rural exposure increases uptake of rural medical practice?AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 5 2007Geetha Ranmuthugala Abstract Australian Government initiatives to address medical workforce shortages in rural Australia include increasing the intake of students of rural background and increasing exposure to rural medicine during training. Rural-orientated medical training programs in the USA that selectively admit students from rural backgrounds and who intend to practise as family practitioners have demonstrated success in increasing uptake of practice in rural/underserved areas. However, in examining the specific contribution of rural exposure towards increasing uptake of rural practice, the evidence is inconclusive, largely due to the failure to adjust for these critical independent predictors of rural practice. This paper identifies this evidence gap, examines the concept of rural exposure, and highlights the need to identify which aspects of rural exposure contribute to a positive attitude towards rural practice, thereby influencing students to return to rural areas. The cost of rural exposure through student placements is not insignificant, and there is a need to identify which aspects are most effective in increasing the uptake of rural practice, thereby helping to address the medical workforce shortage experienced in rural Australia. [source] Empiric validation of the Rural Australian Medical Undergraduate Scholarship ,rural background' criterionAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2005Gillian A. Laven Abstract Objective:,Rural Australian Medical Undergraduate Scholarships (RAMUS) provide $10 000 per annum to selected medical students with a rural background. Eligibility criteria include having lived in a rural community for five consecutive or eight cumulative years. We sought to validate the above-specified criterion using data from the Australian National Rural Background Study. Design:,National case control study stratified by jurisdiction. Participants:,Two thousand four hundred and fourteen Australian-trained rural and urban general practitioners (GPs). Main outcome measure:,Whether the RAMUS rural background criterion was met or not. Results:,Doctors who met the RAMUS rural background criterion were more likely to be in rural practice (odds ratio = 2.50; 95% confidence interval, 1.97,3.18) than those who did not. This was true for all jurisdictions (except for the Northern Territory) and ranged from 1.95 for South Australia to 3.57 for Victoria. Conclusion:,Rural GPs are more likely to fulfil the RAMUS rural background criterion, supporting the existence of the RAMUS scheme. [source] Preparedness for rural community leadership and its impact on practice location of family medicine graduatesAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2005Wayne Woloschuk Abstract Objective:,To identify non-clinical dimensions of preparedness for rural practice and to determine whether preparedness for rural practice is predictive of rural practice location. Design:,Cross-sectional postal survey mailed in 2001. Setting:,Communities across Canada where graduates were practising. Subjects:,,Graduates (n = 369) of the family medicine residency program at the universities of Alberta (U of A) and Calgary (U of C) between 1996 and 2000, inclusive. Interventions:,Using a 4-point scale, graduates rated the extent to which the residency program prepared them for eight dimensions of rural practice: clinical demands of rural practice, understanding rural culture, small community living, balancing work and personal life, establishing personal/professional boundaries, becoming a community leader, handling a ,fish bowl' lifestyle, and choosing a suitable community. Main outcome measure:,Identification of non-clinical dimensions of preparedness for rural practice and whether scores on preparedness scales are predictive of rural practice location. Results:,The overall response rate was 76.4%. Factor analysis of the eight preparedness items produced two factors, ,rural culture' and ,rural community leader' which explained 72% of the variance. The alpha coefficient for each factor was 0.87. Odds ratios revealed that family medicine graduates prepared for rural community leadership roles were 1.92 (CI = 1.03,3.61) times more likely to be in rural practice. Rural physicians were also 2.14 (CI = 1.13,4.03) times as likely to have a rural background. Conclusions:,Preparedness to be a rural community leader and having a rural background were predictive of rural practice. Educators should consider this in both family medicine residency admissions policy and practice and when designing and implementing family medicine residency curricula. [source] Starting salaries for agribusiness graduates from an AASCARR institution: The case of Southern Illinois UniversityAGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2005Kim Harris Starting salaries for agribusiness economics graduates from a non-land grant (AASCARR) institution, Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC), are examined and compared to those documented for land grant agriculture programs. Factors such as advanced degrees, grade point average, gender, rural backgrounds, and community college transfers are found to significantly influence earnings. SIUC graduates' starting salary and its determining factors are found to be comparable to those of land grant universities. The results suggest that non-land grant agribusiness graduates are competitive in the national labor market. Furthermore, the results are consistent with previous findings that show increasing students' grade point averages can increase marketability and starting salary. This is important information for students, their advisors, and agribusiness hiring mangers bidding for their services. [EconLit citations: J310, J430.] © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 21: 65,80, 2005. [source] Does a rural educational experience influence students' likelihood of rural practice?MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2002Impact of student background, gender Context The family medicine clerkship at the University of Calgary is a 4-week mandatory rotation in the final year of a 3-year programme. Students are given the opportunity to experience rural practice by training at 1 of several rural practices. Objective To determine whether exposure to a rural educational experience changes students' likelihood of doing a rural locum or rural practice and whether student background and gender are related to these practice plans. Method Clinical clerks from the Classes of 1996,2000, who trained at rural sites, responded to questionnaire items both before and after the rural educational experience. Responses to the questionnaire items and discipline of postgraduate training served as dependent variables. Student background and gender were independent variables. Results As a result of the rural educational experience all students were more likely to do a rural locum. Compared to their urban-raised peers, students from rural backgrounds reported a significantly greater likelihood of doing a rural locum and practising in a rural community, irrespective of gender or participating in a rural educational experience. There was no relationship between background and career choice. Conclusion A rural educational experience at the undergraduate level increases the stated likelihood of students participating in rural locums and helps to solidify existing rural affiliations. Students with rural backgrounds have a more favourable attitude toward rural practice. This pre-post study provides further support for the preferential admission to medical school of students with rural backgrounds to help alleviate the rural physician shortage. [source] Where is the evidence that rural exposure increases uptake of rural medical practice?AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 5 2007Geetha Ranmuthugala Abstract Australian Government initiatives to address medical workforce shortages in rural Australia include increasing the intake of students of rural background and increasing exposure to rural medicine during training. Rural-orientated medical training programs in the USA that selectively admit students from rural backgrounds and who intend to practise as family practitioners have demonstrated success in increasing uptake of practice in rural/underserved areas. However, in examining the specific contribution of rural exposure towards increasing uptake of rural practice, the evidence is inconclusive, largely due to the failure to adjust for these critical independent predictors of rural practice. This paper identifies this evidence gap, examines the concept of rural exposure, and highlights the need to identify which aspects of rural exposure contribute to a positive attitude towards rural practice, thereby influencing students to return to rural areas. The cost of rural exposure through student placements is not insignificant, and there is a need to identify which aspects are most effective in increasing the uptake of rural practice, thereby helping to address the medical workforce shortage experienced in rural Australia. [source] | ||||||||||