Caring for chronic illness in the rural setting Essay

Caring for chronic illness in the rural setting - Essay Example They also lack knowledge and training about the caring regimen needed for the family members suffering from chronic disease (Smith-Campbell, 2009, p.562). Hence, it is extremely important for health care professionals to design the services which are not only easily accessible to people living in rural areas but also help them in being capable of providing proper care to their family members suffering from chronic conditions. The Obstacles A study by ‘The Dartmouth Atlas Project’ (2006) has found that the chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer have affected the health of more than 90 million people in the US (Pierce& Lutz, 2009, p.191). Shapiro (2002) has found that the chronic condition is prevalent in more than one third of young adults aged between 18 to 44 years (Pierce& Lutz, 2009, p.191). A study by AHRQ (2002) has revealed that more than 75% of elder population is suffering from either one or more chronic conditions (Pierce& Lutz, 2009, p.192). T hese studies show how serious is the issue of prevalence of chronic conditions in the US population. It is evident that chronic condition is not limited to a particular age group but is affecting people from every age group. Hence, health care by family members is going to play a vital role in controlling the increase of the chronic diseases in people. However, families from rural setting are facing many obstacles in getting the access to health care services. Inadequate Health insurance Inadequate health insurance has proved to be one of the major problems in accessing proper health care services. A study by Lottero et al. (2007) found that even after having a long term relationship with the health care providers, people from farming profession were denied health care as they were not financially capable of paying the bills for their treatment (Smith-Campbell, 2009, p.562). The major problem with the families seeking health care services for chronic conditions in rural areas is tha t they are either uninsured or underinsured (Smith-Campbell, 2009, p.562). Hence, they avoid the treatment for chronic conditions unless it is an emergency (Smith-Campbell, 2009, p.562). The lack of financial resources and sufficient insurance also make them to avoid getting health screening and preventive measures for chronic conditions (Smith-Campbell, 2009, p.562). Hence, instead of getting under control, the lack of proper resources is leading to growth in the prevalence of chronic conditions. Lack Of Facilities There are many obstacles that people living in rural area face in taking advantage of the medical facilities. They cannot utilize the medical facilities due to lack of follow up facilities required for different kind of chronic condition treatments. A qualitative research, conducted to study the obstacles in implementation of lifestyle and pharmacological changes to improve the chronic condition of ischemic heart disease, found that the use of ACE inhibitors was not poss ible in case of rural patients as it required follow-up blood tests (Putnam, Twohig, Burge, Jackson, & Cox, 2004, p. 401) Unfortunately, people living in the rural area, who suffer from hypertension and congestive heart diseases, cannot use ACE inhibitors as they cannot get an easy access to the blood test facility. Similarly, the facilities for physical exercise are also not accessible to the