Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Rural Development”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Lessons from the Essential Access Community Hospital Program for rural health network development.

The Essential Access Community Hospital (EACH) Program is testing a concept for limited-service hospitals established under Medicare called the Rural Primary Care Hospital (RPCH). The program uses cost-based reimbursement and relaxed regulatory requirements to help low-volume rural hospitals shift emphasis from acute care to primary care and emergency services. RPCHs must form "horizontal" networks with larger hospitals and may form "vertical" arrangements with ambulatory service providers and practitioners. A small number of rural hospitals have converted to the RPCH status since the program entered the implementation stage in late 1993. It is unclear how many other hospitals will convert given uncertainty regarding the financial impact of RPCH conversion and concerns with certain requirements. The program illustrates how payment policies can provide incentives for network development and reflects the importance of physician involvement and technical assistance in developing limited-service hospitals. In addition, it appears that EACH/RPCH networks that form under the program may serve as building blocks for broader networks, as the seven states involved in the program look to develop rural health networks that go beyond the EACH/RPCH model.

Comprehensive Health Care↗
PubMed2001

Newspaper reports as a source for injury data in developing countries.

Injuries are an important public health problem and a leading cause of death among adults and children. In most of the developing world, with rapid changes in lifestyle, rural development, urbanization, an increase in number of vehicles, introduction of mechanized farming and pesticides in agriculture, the effect of injuries on mortality and morbidity is expected to increase. Injuries have been infrequently studied in developing countries; their importance is incompletely understood and they are seriously neglected in health research and policy. The reasons for this situation may be many, but one important reason is the unavailability of data in countries to assess the magnitude of the problem. Hospital and police records are the primary data source for injuries in the majority of the developing world. Newspaper reports may be an alternative source for injury data. This hypothesis was tested in the Rawalpindi Division of Pakistan by collecting data from newspaper reports for both intentional and unintentional injuries for 6 months (January-June 1999). This was compared with police data for the same time period. The results revealed that newspapers report more injury-related events and for some categories, such as suicides, the reporting was far greater by newspapers than the police. We conclude that the current system of police data collection needs to be strengthened. Newspapers may serve as a comparative source of information to evaluate the coverage of police data.

Bibliometrics↗
PubMed2004

Investigating the health of rural communities: toward framework development.

How healthy are the residents of rural Canada? How healthy are Canada's rural communities? Members of an interdisciplinary research team at the Brandon University Rural Development Institute, Manitoba, Canada, formed a partnership with rural stakeholders in an attempt to strengthen and build capacity in rural communities. One component of this research was the development of a framework to assist residents of rural communities to assess the health and sustainability of their community. Through dialogue with partners and review of the literature, a preliminary framework can be generated. This article formed the first step in the creation of such a framework. The article begins with common term and concept development, extends to a critical analysis of framework literature and culminates with consideration of steps to be taken next in the establishment of a framework and indicators that are both meaningful and useful for rural residents and their communities.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1988

Law No. 86-844 relating to New Caledonia, 17 July 1986.

Among other things, this Law creates an Agency for Rural Development and Land Management in New Caledonia. The Agency is authorized to acquire by private sale or pre-emption land suitable for farming, livestock, and forestry in order to manage it in a more valuable way and grant it back to individuals or groups or grant use rights over it. If the land is granted to a local group, the group has the choice of holding it according to customary law. The Agency may also give a lifetime indemnity to any agricultural worker over 55 years old who stops using land situated in certain defined zones, or give persons using land in such zones a grant for relocation if they exchange that land for land outside these zones.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1992

Towards a sustainable livestock production in developing countries and the importance of animal health strategy therein.

Livestock and animal health development projects have not always led to substantial increases in animal productivity or in farmers' welfare. Some have even resulted in unsustainable systems, when they were not based on an understanding of (livestock) production systems. The multipurpose functions of livestock and complex relationships between the biological, technical and social components require a systems approach, whereby nutrition, animal health, breeding, biotechnology knowhow, inputs and technologies are used to optimise resource use. The challenge for developed and developing countries is to reverse the current degradation of the environment, and arrive at sustainable increases in crop and livestock production to secure present and future food supplies. For rural development, governments should show long term commitment and political will to support the rural population in development programmes, because smallholders (including women and landless livestock keepers) represent a large labour force in developing countries. Different systems need different approaches. Pastoral systems must focus on effective management of grazing pressure of the rangelands. Communal rangelands management involves not only the development and application of technologies (e.g. feedlots, vaccination campaigns), but also land tenure policies, institutional development, economic return and a reduction in the number of people depending upon livestock. Smallholder mixed farms must aim at intensification of the total production system, in which external inputs are indispensable, but with the emphasis on optimum input-output relationships by reducing resource losses due to poor management. Resource-poor farming systems must aim at the improved management of the various livestock species in backyards and very small farms, and proper packages for cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, rabbits and poultry should be developed. Specialised commercial livestock farming systems (poultry, pigs, dairy or meat) can only be sustainable with adequate marketing, supply of quality feed, veterinary services, labour, management and control of pollution. Animal health programmes play a keyrole in the proposed system approach.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1994

Lao People's Democratic Republic Veterinary Public Health Project.

From May 21 to June 4, 1993, a collaborative training project involving U.S. Army veterinary personnel, the Lao-American Integrated Rural Development Project, and the Lao Department of Livestock and Veterinary Services occurred in the Houa Muang District of Houa Phan Province in northeastern Laos. The project focus was control of the major animal diseases of economic or public health importance in the area to include, but not limited to, hemorrhagic septicemia, anthrax, swine fever (hog cholera), and Newcastle disease. The project provided Lao veterinary personnel and villagers with didactic training and field demonstrations in disease control practices. Supplies and equipment necessary to continue disease control activities were provided to the district at the conclusion of the training and field demonstrations. The project was designed to be compatible with disease reporting and surveillance systems at district, province, and national levels and be exportable to other districts and provinces. In addition to disease-control efforts, blood and fecal parasite surveys were conducted.

International Cooperation↗
PubMed1999

Temporary migration and regional development in China.

"A new approach to migration in developing countries is used in this paper, which integrates into the migration process the experiences of moving to cities, working in urban areas, and returning to the countryside. As a result, rural labor migration is directly linked to rural development through remittances, as well as through physical and human capital brought back by return migrants. Migration information is mainly drawn from China's 1995 1% National Population Survey.... It has been found that patterns of temporary migration are mainly shaped by the magnetic force of the growth-pole region. Job opportunities created there in labor-intensive industries have attracted large numbers of migrants, first from the surrounding rural areas and then from the peripheral regions, enhancing migration propensity in both areas."

Asia↗
PubMed1995

The tooth as a marker of developing world quality of life: a field study in Guatemala.

A geographical sample in a rural area of eastern Guatemala revealed widespread, premature and heavy losses of permanent teeth. Social and environmental influences that affect tooth loss include inadequate diet, refined sugar, poor oral hygiene, absence of fluoride, lack of preventive education and insufficiency of dental care services. Land hunger and family poverty are of paramount importance. Gender-based cultural differences are apparent in tooth extraction rates, and use of dentures. No one escapes visitations of severe orofacial pain that cast a blight upon the quality of rural life. Periodontal disease drives the poorest of the poor to spend disproportionately large sums on pharmaceutical pain-killers and destructive traditional medicines. Lay 'tooth-pullers' visit remote rural homes to extract teeth. Only full edentulism can bring patients permanent somatic and financial relief. Community dental health is conspicuously neglected in official policies and plans for rural development.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Population density and development potential in rural Zimbabwe: an assessment based on the 1969 and 1982 censuses.

"Based on 1969 and 1982 census data, this paper examines the spatial association between high rural population density and development potential in Zimbabwe and its significance for national development policy. A 1982 grid cell density map was compiled on the same geographical frame as an existing 1969 density map, yielding an intercensal density change map. A land classification map and a composite map of development constraints were rasterized on the same spatial framework and subjected to computer analysis. Areas of critically high (and generally increasing) densities showed strong spatial associations with areas of severe development constraints...."

Africa↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Health organization in developing countries: innovations in the Peoples Republic of China.

The medical care delivery systems of most low-income countries are largely patterned on those of industrialized societies and are ill suited to the needs of developing countries. The present alternative model of health care in China has evolved after prolonged and often bitter debate extending over twenty years. The system that has been developed is one that appears uniquely suited to the needs of a large rural developing country; but it has been achieved in large part not through the medical profession but by evolving a system based upon participation by the people themselves and the development of new health-worker roles.

China↗
PubMed2006

Conservation value of clustered housing developments.

Traditionally, exurban lands in Colorado have been subdivided into a grid of parcels ranging from 2 to 16 ha. From an ecological perspective, this dispersed pattern of development effectively maximizes the individual influence of each home on the land. Clustered housing developments, designed to maximize open space, are assumed to benefit plant and wildlife communities of conservation interest. They have become a popular alternative for rural development despite the lack of empirical evidence demonstrating their conservation benefits. To better inform rural land-use planning, we evaluated clustered housing developments by comparing their spatial pattern with that of dispersed housing developments and by comparing their conservation value with that of both dispersed housing developments and undeveloped areas in Boulder County, Colorado. We used four indicators to assess conservation value: (1) densities of songbirds, (2) nest density and survival of ground-nesting birds, (3) presence of mammals, and (4) percent cover and proportion of native and non-native plant species. Clustered and dispersed housing developments did not differ on the majority of variables we examined. Both types of housing development had significantly higher densities of non-native and human-commensal species and significantly lower densities of native and human-sensitive species than undeveloped areas. More rigorous ecological guidelines and planning on a regional scale may help create clustered developments with higher conservation value.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Primary health care and donor dependency: a case study of nongovernment assistance in Burkina Faso.

Primary health care assistance has become prominent in the rural development programs of many nongovernment organizations throughout sub-Saharan Africa. By emphasizing education and the promotion of new participatory health systems, most such programs aim to enhance the conditions of women as principal community care givers. Yet village-level health assistance in Africa is not without shortcomings. This is exemplified in a case study of two nongovernment programs in Burkina Faso's Namentenga Province. Although both programs have contributed to maternal health and infant survival, they have also induced new ties of donor dependency. This appears to present a conundrum for the sponsoring agencies which espouse self-reliance as a development assistance goal. In fact, however, where the intervention of nongovernment organizations helps to improve rural health, new dimensions of dependency may prove to be a positive first stage in the mobilization of women and the development of locally managed health systems. For this to be so, much is contingent on the capacity of these organizations to integrate local participation in their own planning and management processes, and to augment the professional status of indigenous health workers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Rural Canada in the OECD context.

Rural policy issues are receiving renewed attention. Understanding commonalities and differences is the first step in the policy debate on the future of rural peoples. There is a wide range across OECD member countries in the proportion of the population that is rural. This suggests that different countries have different capacities to invest in rural development. Agriculture is not the major source of employment in the predominantly rural regions of OECD countries. As machinery is substituted for labor, regions that are dependent on agricultural jobs will need to find something new to export in order to maintain their employment base. However, the industrial structure of predominantly rural regions is not a major factor in their employment performance. Other factors, such as adjacent metropolitan areas, scenic vistas, an entrepreneurial culture, and the presence of educational institutions, make the difference.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1992

The facilities and challenges for cancer control in India.

India is a vast subcontinent with 845 million peoples occupying 2.5% of land mass of the earth, but carrying 15% of the world population. It is a multiracial society with widely varying cultures, habits, languages and many different ethnic groups. The pattern of cancer, therefore, mainly depends on their habits and life styles apart from other variations. Head, Neck & Esophagus cancers in the male and cervix and breast cancers in the females are the main cancers. All together they form nearly 60% of all cancers. The incidence rates are around 90/100,000 though this is an underestimate as cancer is not a notifiable disease in India. It is estimated that by the year 2,000 there will be six million cancer patients in India at any given time with nearly 2 million new patients annually. The over-all facilities for cancer treatment vary widely from metropolitan cities to rural areas where 70% of the Indian population lives. In major cities, good to excellent treatment facilities exist in comprehensive cancer centres--yet in the rural setting the facilities are sketchy at best or non-existent at worst. The Government of India in its national cancer policy has recognized regional cancer centres and consolidated other existing centres. There are 10 regional cancer centres thus identified, each one at a different level of development. For optimal requirements at least 600 teletherapy units, (existing 150--not always functional) 100 departments of surgical oncology and an equal number of medical oncology divisions are needed (existing 20). The demand for cancer treatment facilities are, therefore, very high with poor available facility. Nearly 50% of patients present late for treatment and therefore appropriate education in prevention and early diagnosis are important factors. The Government of India through Ministry of Health has identified cancer as a major health problem by the year 2,000 and hence planning by the National Cancer Plan is operative in many States. Major cancer institutions (like the Tata Memorial Centre) have taken a lead to intensify the public and professional educational activities and have developed rural modules for primary and secondary prevention. The author exemplifies this by actual on the spot activities of the rural centre and stresses that in a country like India, the need is to develop small community cancer centres with the rural cancer effort as the base so as to reach out to the community for early diagnosis of treatment.

Cancer Care Facilities↗
PubMed1993

The demand for water in rural areas: determinants and policy implications.

Improving the adequacy and quality of water supplies is a priority for rural development in developing countries. So far, the strategies of governments and international donors for tackling the problem have been supply-driven; the fundamental importance of demand in the selection of appropriate policies has been virtually ignored. The realization that effective policy and planning must take into account what the rural clients want and are prepared to pay for was the impetus for the World Bank's multicountry study of households' demand for improved water services. This article summarizes the findings of the 1987-90 investigation of determinants of rural demand in selected regions of Latin America, Africa, and South Asia. The research team used both direct (contingent valuation) surveys and indirect (revealed preference) methods to estimate households willingness to pay for different levels and types of improvement. The methodology produced some illuminating insights into how to decide what level of service is appropriate for a particular community and how the improved services should be paid for. The team identified 4 broad categories of village situations, with appropriate policies ranging from the provision of house connections at full cost of one extreme, to no improvement in traditional supplies at the other extreme.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Distribution of dengue and Japanese encephalitis among children in rural and suburban Thai villages.

In the rainy season of 1989, IgG and IgM antibodies against dengue and Japanese encephalitis viruses (measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay [ELISA]) in serum from all primary-school children in two areas of central Thailand were sampled in order to choose a study site for more detailed epidemiological and entomological analysis. Students in three schools in the largely non-agricultural, suburban community of Bang Bua Thong, Nontaburi Province were sampled in late June and July. Of 1,477 children, 33/1,000 had recent dengue infection and 7/1,000 had recent JE infection. The rate of dengue infection in each village influenced the rate in schools, in that the rate of the school could be predicted from the proportion of students coming from each village. This result suggested that most transmission occurred in the residential environment; otherwise, the rate in each village going to a single school would be identical. Serum samples were taken in late August in the agricultural community of Hua Samrong, Chachoengsao Province. Of 748 students in two schools, 95/1,000 had signs of recent dengue infection and 32/1,000 had signs of recent JE infection. Two of 12 villages had significantly less flavivirus infection than some other villages and three villages had significantly more flavivirus infection. The children from one village had a dengue infection rate of 256 per 1,000, which was higher than the national average for the worst year (1987) previously recorded in Thailand. Within Hua Samrong, there was evidence for significant dengue transmission in one of the schools and concentrated transmission in small areas of two of the villages. The younger age group (3-8 years old) had significantly higher risk of infection by either flavivirus than older children. Elevated homes with wooden floors had significantly higher risk of dengue in the largest village. The observations from 1989 describe the epidemiological situation in rapidly developing, rural villages. This stage of development is probably being repeated throughout Southeast Asia as formerly isolated, rural villages become connected by transportation and economy to urban centers. What appears to be a single dengue outbreak based on passive surveillance conducted on a regional basis may actually be a variety of epidemiological situations. The practical implication of this conclusion is that application of a combination of vaccination and vector control should be targeted to higher risk areas in order to increase the likelihood of regional dengue virus eradication.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Asthma education in rural communities.

Asthma is a common disease of airway obstruction in school-aged children. Adequate management of asthma in children leads to fewer missed school days, fewer hospitalizations, fewer emergency room visits, and an increase in quality of life. Most asthma educational programs and evaluations have focused on urban rather than rural populations. The purpose of this study was to identify parental asthma needs, develop rural asthma education materials, and evaluate the effectiveness of these educational materials in improving the knowledge and asthma care effectiveness of parents of children with asthma in a rural community. Seven parents were contacted by telephone and administered a pre- and posttest questionnaire analyzing their level of knowledge about asthma and their quality of life. Asthma educational materials were mailed to all parents in the study before administering the posttest. Results indicated that all parents needed additional education about asthma, especially regarding medications. Pre- and posttest scores showed improvements in three areas of knowledge: long-term asthma medications, controlling roaches in the home, and daily peak flow monitoring. There was a significant improvement between pre- and posttest results from the activity domain of quality of life. Eighty-five percent of the parents reported that they had either initiated changes in their home, or planned to in the future, from reading the educational materials. The parents' response to the educational materials that they received by mail was positive, indicating that they may not have received enough information about how to care for children with asthma before our study. The data suggest that distribution of asthma educational materials in rural communities can increase parental knowledge about asthma and lead to positive changes in behavior that can improve their children's health.

Asthma↗