the cedar ledge

A Systematic Review of the Health of Vulnerable Populations within US Rural Societies

Date: September 8 2022

Summary: An overview and summary of vulnerable populations that are particular to rural US

Keywords: ##bibliography #review #vulnerable #populations #rural #us #archive

Bibliography

K. M. Gonzalez, "A Systematic Review of the Health of Vulnerable Populations within US Rural Societies," OJRNHC, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 112–147, 2018, doi: 10.14574/ojrnhc.v18i1.507.

Table of Contents

    1. Reading Movation
    2. What Is Vulnerability?
    3. Barriers Often Encountered in Rural Healthcare Settings
    4. Vulnerabilities Most Often Studied in Rural Health Literature
    5. Recommendations for Future Research
  1. How To Cite
  2. References:
  3. Discussion:

Reading Movation

I wanted to read this paper to get more a sense for vulnerable populations. Although I was less interested in the specific applications to rural communities, I found the discussion around rural vulnerabilities very interesting as well as clarification around definitions.

What Is Vulnerability?

Vulnerable populations are those subgroups that are at risk for experiencing elevated healthcare disparities. (De Chesnay & Anderson, 2016; Shi & Stevens, 2010).

A potential model to assess vulnerability is that proposed by (Grabovschi et al., 2013) where it can be visaulized as a right triangle with the horizontal axis representing healthcare accessibility and quality; vertical axis represents healthcare needs; hypotenuse is the level of vulnerability.

Barriers Often Encountered in Rural Healthcare Settings

Health disparities continue to be a severe problem across US populations. (Crosby, Wendel, Vanderpool, & Casey, 2012; Penman-Aguilar et al., 2016) Trends in inequalities emerge for patients seeking healthcare across multiple factors such as race, socioeconomic status, and provider accessibility.

Vulnerabilities Most Often Studied in Rural Health Literature

46 articles were studied for this systematic review. Population sizes ranged from 10 to 30,874 people. For quantitative studies, populations ranged from 28 to 30,874 participants.

Aspects of Vulnerability ConsideredIncluded papers, n (%)
Low socioeconomic status22(47.8%)
Racial/Ethnic Minority18(39.1%)
Chronic physical or mental illness11(23.9%)
Low level of education11(23.9%)
Old age8(17.4%)
Youth8(17.4%)
Residence in medically underserved area6(13.0%)
Disability5(10.9%)
Pregnancy4(8.7%)
Smoking3(6.5%)
Substance Abuse3(6.5%)

Recommendations for Future Research

Only one article calculated a power analysis (Komro et al., 2015).

Power analysis are used in quantitative research to limit error between hypothesis and findings.

There was observed an overrelianceon descriptive correlational designs that impeded adequate theory testing. Studies should incorporate theories and theoretical applications relevant to rural populations.

How To Cite

Zelko, Jacob. A Systematic Review of the Health of Vulnerable Populations within US Rural Societies. https://jacobzelko.com/09082022131551-systematic-rural-review. September 8 2022.

References:

Discussion:

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