Rural Health Profile

The health profile of rural populations differs quite dramatically from urban ones. These differences have important flow on effects for the practice and delivery of healthcare, discussed in the next section. This section will highlight the distinctive rural health profile by detailing some of the known differences between urban and rural populations.

These differences may be identified by looking at the current state of individuals’ health and the wider environment that influences health in various ways:

• Health status and outcomes: health conditions, human function, life expectancy and wellbeing, deaths
• Determinants of health: environmental factors, socioeconomic factors, community capacity, health behaviours, person-related factors

Below are some of the known differences by these two dimensions.

Health status and outcomes

Compared to populations in major cities, regional and remote populations:

• Have a lower life expectancy (1-2 years in regional areas, 7 years in remote areas)
• Are more likely to report asthma, arthritis and bronchitis but less likely to report osteoporosis
• Share similar rates of diabetes, cerebrovascular disease and coronary heart disease
• Have a different incidence of cancer (4% higher in regional areas and 10% lower in very remote areas)

Determinants of health

Compared to populations in major cities, regional and remote populations are:

• more likely to engage in risky or high risk alcohol consumption
• more likely to be daily smokers
• more likely to report sedentary levels of physical activity
• more likely to eat four or more servings of vegetables they were less likely to eat the recommended daily amount of fruit