Key Barriers Faced by Rural Patients and Nursing Interventions | Community Health Nursing

Running head: COMMUINITY HEALTH NURSING
COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING
Name of the Student:
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1COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING
Introduction
Individuals residing in rural areas encounter a range of socioeconomic issues unique and
diverse from those faced by affluent and privileged urban communities (Krometis et al., 2017).
The following paper will thus briefly highlight the key barriers faced by rural patients and
nursing interventions to mitigate the same.
Discussion
Barriers to Healthcare
One of the key barriers impacting communities resign in rural areas is lack of healthcare
accessibility and affordability. Individuals from rural areas are likely to live in remote localities
which are too far from or not covered by the nearest healthcare center. The financial and time
constraints encountered in order to access clinics and hospitals, in turn deter individuals from
rural areas to engage in regular healthcare treatments, screening or follow ups (Krometis et al.,
2017).
Additionally, the remote nature of rural regions further pave the way for reduced influx
of healthcare professionals working in those areas since it is perceived that these regions do not
have the potential to become lucrative prospects. The lack of sufficient employment ventures in
turn, contribute to poor income and inability of rural communities to afford healthcare services
(Keiffer, Loomis & Goyal, 2020).
Intervention
The community nurse, in addition to engaging in family centered and evidence based
nursing practice, are also obliged to advocate for patient communities. Thus, to address these

2COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING
barriers, the community nurse can advocate for rural regions and request governmental
organizations to provide greater funding in establishing increased healthcare centers in the region
(Krometis et al., 2017). The community nurse can also advocate and request educational
institutes to in turn educate and encourage students to engage in professional practice in
socioeconomically deprived regions. Lastly the community nurse can also educate rural patients
on cost effective self-management healthcare strategies via virtual telehealth strategies so as to
increase empowerment and reduce their need to engage in expensive or unfeasible medical
treatments (Keiffer, Loomis & Goyal, 2020).
Conclusion
Thus, it can be observed that rural communities face difficulties in terms of healthcare
accessibility and affordability. To conclude, nursing advocacy coupled with increasing health
promotion and healthcare education, can assist in minimizing the impact of such barriers.

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References
Keiffer, M., Loomis, J., & Goyal, D. (2020). Nurse Practitioner Student Clinical Placements: A
Rural Community Immersion. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 16(1), e1-e4.
Krometis, L. A., Gohlke, J., Kolivras, K., Satterwhite, E., Marmagas, S. W., & Marr, L. C.
(2017). Environmental health disparities in the central Appalachian region of the United
States. Reviews on environmental health, 32(3), 253-266.