Introduction: Mental health is an important component of overall health. Mental illness is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the US and is associated with chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, ...Introduction: Mental health is an important component of overall health. Mental illness is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the US and is associated with chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. In the US, most people with mental health issues or disorders remain untreated. Epidemiological studies have identified rural residents as being at greater risk for health disparities;as a result, rural residents are a vulnerable population in terms of mental health and mental health care. Research has demonstrated that perceived stigma can be a significant barrier to rural residents seeking mental health care. This study examined the research question: What are the characteristics of US rural adults with mental health concerns who perceived stigma? Methods: 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate techniques to answer the research question. 2007 BRFSS data were used because in that year non-institutionalized US adults in 37 states and territories were queried about their attitudes toward mental illness. BRFSS is a random digit telephone survey that uses a complex multi-stage sampling approach and subsequently a weighting factor is calculated for application to the data in order to ensure that they are representative of the US population based on the most recent census data. Only weighted data were analyzed. Results: Logistic regression analysis revealed that rural adults reporting mental health concerns who perceived stigma regarding mental health were more likely to be unemployed seeking work or not working and not seeking work, military veterans, or to have deferred medical care because of cost. They were also more likely to not have a health care provider and to rarely or never feel supported emotionally. Conclusions: Support systems may render people with mental health issues less vulnerable to perceiving stigma, thus assisting with removing stigma as a barrier to care. Pharmacist may play a role as support in communities, especially where access to health care providers may be limited.展开更多
Introduction: Approximately 7.1 million US children have asthma. The burden of asthma is disproportionate with ruralUSpopulations experiencing a higher prevalence of the disease. Rural populations experience additiona...Introduction: Approximately 7.1 million US children have asthma. The burden of asthma is disproportionate with ruralUSpopulations experiencing a higher prevalence of the disease. Rural populations experience additional disparities regarding health care access, job availability, and daily living resources. Hence, the family impact of having a child with asthma may be influenced by geographic locale. This impact could be a result of health insurance tied to employment, out of pocket costs, and health care provider availability. Few studies have assessed the impact a child’s asthma has on a family. This study sought to answer the question: What is the impact of children with asthma on US rural families? Methods: Multivariate techniques were performed to examine a single year of data from two connected population-based datasets, the 2007-2008 National Survey of Children’s Health and the 2009-2010 Children with Special Health Care Needs Survey. Children with current asthma defined the study population for both datasets. A logistic regression model was performed for each database. The dependent variable for the first model was child in family currently has asthma, for the second it was rural children with current asthma. Results: The first logistic regression model confirmed that rural children were more likely to have asthma than non-rural children. The second logistic regression model yielded that rural families with a child diagnosed with asthma had greater odds of: not having health insurance, having a parent who stopped working, avoided a job change, or experienced financial problems because of the child’s health. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that rural families experience a disproportionate financial hardship as a result of their child’s asthma. Pharmacist intervention in asthma care in rural areas has the potential to decrease the financial burden for a family while also improving a child’s health.展开更多
文摘Introduction: Mental health is an important component of overall health. Mental illness is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the US and is associated with chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. In the US, most people with mental health issues or disorders remain untreated. Epidemiological studies have identified rural residents as being at greater risk for health disparities;as a result, rural residents are a vulnerable population in terms of mental health and mental health care. Research has demonstrated that perceived stigma can be a significant barrier to rural residents seeking mental health care. This study examined the research question: What are the characteristics of US rural adults with mental health concerns who perceived stigma? Methods: 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate techniques to answer the research question. 2007 BRFSS data were used because in that year non-institutionalized US adults in 37 states and territories were queried about their attitudes toward mental illness. BRFSS is a random digit telephone survey that uses a complex multi-stage sampling approach and subsequently a weighting factor is calculated for application to the data in order to ensure that they are representative of the US population based on the most recent census data. Only weighted data were analyzed. Results: Logistic regression analysis revealed that rural adults reporting mental health concerns who perceived stigma regarding mental health were more likely to be unemployed seeking work or not working and not seeking work, military veterans, or to have deferred medical care because of cost. They were also more likely to not have a health care provider and to rarely or never feel supported emotionally. Conclusions: Support systems may render people with mental health issues less vulnerable to perceiving stigma, thus assisting with removing stigma as a barrier to care. Pharmacist may play a role as support in communities, especially where access to health care providers may be limited.
文摘Introduction: Approximately 7.1 million US children have asthma. The burden of asthma is disproportionate with ruralUSpopulations experiencing a higher prevalence of the disease. Rural populations experience additional disparities regarding health care access, job availability, and daily living resources. Hence, the family impact of having a child with asthma may be influenced by geographic locale. This impact could be a result of health insurance tied to employment, out of pocket costs, and health care provider availability. Few studies have assessed the impact a child’s asthma has on a family. This study sought to answer the question: What is the impact of children with asthma on US rural families? Methods: Multivariate techniques were performed to examine a single year of data from two connected population-based datasets, the 2007-2008 National Survey of Children’s Health and the 2009-2010 Children with Special Health Care Needs Survey. Children with current asthma defined the study population for both datasets. A logistic regression model was performed for each database. The dependent variable for the first model was child in family currently has asthma, for the second it was rural children with current asthma. Results: The first logistic regression model confirmed that rural children were more likely to have asthma than non-rural children. The second logistic regression model yielded that rural families with a child diagnosed with asthma had greater odds of: not having health insurance, having a parent who stopped working, avoided a job change, or experienced financial problems because of the child’s health. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that rural families experience a disproportionate financial hardship as a result of their child’s asthma. Pharmacist intervention in asthma care in rural areas has the potential to decrease the financial burden for a family while also improving a child’s health.
