Health Outcomes and Access Disparities in Rural Areas

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Health Outcomes and Access Disparities in Rural Areas

This course will review determinants that influence health outcomes of the most disadvantaged populations in rural areas of the United States.  Special attention will be given to socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and gender status and their relationships with health disparities and inequities in the rural south.  Content areas will include (1) Current Public Health interventions and initiatives to reduce health disparities in the rural south; (2) The role of Public Health practitioners in identifying and reducing health disparities; (3) Cultural backgrounds of native and immigrant populations that belong to the most disadvantaged groups and how they affect the ability to communicate with health professionals and thus, affect health outcomes; (4) Civil and human rights in relation to health disparities; and (5) Current health status and trends of the most disadvantaged groups in the rural south.