Living In The Country Is Not Healthier Than Living In The City

Green Acres May Not Be Where You Want to Be

In the 1960's and 1970's, the Hungarian-born actress Eva Gabor and the late American folk singing star and actor Eddie Albert starred in one of America's all-time most popular television shows, Green Acres. Every episode opened with Zsa Zsa Gabor protesting the couple's move from New York City to their farm near Hooterville, after Eddie Albert insisted:
    But it turns out that Eva Gabor's character may have been right. Living out in the country, a Wisconsin epidemiologist now tells us, may be dangerous for your health, at least in his own state.

Dr. Patrick Remington of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute has told Reuter's Health that residents of some rural areas of his state are far more likely to feel depressed, to live in poverty, and to experience poor health outcomes, compared to urban dwellers of Wisconsin. Residents of rural counties were more likely to drink, to smoke, and to be victims of crime. Babies in rural counties, in his study, were more likely to be born prematurely, and elderly people were more likely to die prematurely.

But Dr. Remington's study only applied to state of Wisconsin.

What about rural health in other states?

• The Texas A&M University Health Science Center surveyed 1,144 rural residents and 734 urban residents in the state of Texas. The Texas A&M researchers found that rural residents were more likely to drink sugar-sweetened soft drinks, more likely to eat fast food, and less likely to eat fruits and vegetables. They also found that when rural residents did not live nearby fast food restaurants, they just drove further to get junk food. (After they spent money on gasoline, fast food may have been all that was affordable.)
• Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health found that only 26% of rural residents in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina could get treatment for a stroke in 30 minutes or less, compared to 70% of those living in towns and cities.
• And Taiwanese researchers studying US health data found that rural residents were significantly less likely that city dwellers to use the Internet to communicate with their doctors, to schedule appointments and to fill out insurance claims, or to get information about their health conditions.

There are similar patterns in countries all over the world. A study of neonatal health care in Gansu province in China found that infants in rural homes were nearly 2-1/2 times more likely to die during their first year of life than infants in urban homes. A study of colon cancer screening in South Australia found that rural South Australians were about 20% less likely to get cancer screening than those who lived in urban Adelaide or nearby cities. Even in the European Union, rural residents are less likely to have access to basic health services than people who live in cities, and the disparities are even more striking in much of Latin America, Africa, and South Asia.
 

Where Are the Healthy Places to Live in the United States?

In the United States as a whole neither rural counties nor urban counties are the most likely to report good health statistics. The best outcomes are found in suburban counties, populated by wealthier families, but near good health facilities. A person in Georgetown, Texas, for instance, is 10 times more likely to survive a heart attack than one living in the vicinity of Ducktown, Tennessee. For-profit healthcare concerns often focus their efforts on providing care in wealthy suburbs. Insurance premiums are likely to be lower, too.
 

But what if you have your heart set on living on your own green acres, land spreadin' out so far and wide? With a little planning, you can avoid the problems that cause disease in rural areas.

• Make sure your country home has an adequate septic tank. Rural home owners don't get public sewage service. They have to manage their own waste through septic fields. If you don't want to spend the afternoon after every holiday meal digging out the lines to your septic field, make sure you have an adequate system to protect both your family and your neighbors.
• Make sure you have a clean water supply. In the United States, even rural areas now have access to public water supplies. If you have well water, have it tested for both microbial and chemical contamination, especially if nearby farms use chemicals.
• Learn first aid, and get to know your first responders. In most rural areas in the United States, there will be one nearby neighbor who has been trained as an emergency medical technician. This person works for free, and often is available 24/7. If you call 911 for an emergency, your first responder will be sent to your location before the ambulance. First aid can make a critical difference in the minutes while you are waiting for the first responder, and getting acquainted with your first responder can ensure you can be reached.
• Plant a garden. Until the 1980's, most farmers had gardens, and many raised almost all of their own food. Now rural residents often drive long distances to city jobs to make ends meet and don't devote time to their gardens. Simply planting a few salad greens, however, can save money and improve your health.
• Keep fire-fighting tools on hand. The fire department and the emergency medical team are usually housed in the same building, and that building can be a long drive from your home. Having a working fire extinguisher, and keeping combustible materials out of your house and away from your house can save your home and even save your life.
• Always refill prescriptions ahead of time. Storms can make travel into town impossible.
• Learn the fastest route to emergency care centers. In the event help doesn't come or can't come quickly enough, you will have to take your family member in for treatment yourself. Learn the quickest routes and alternate routes to the medical facilities you need.
• Keep your cell phone charged and handy. Power lines and electrical lines can go down. Keeping your cell phone in working order helps you maintain a connection to the outside world.