Healthcare Delivery Systems in Rural Areas

Abstract

Health care is a fundamental right of every human being. About half of the world’s population (An estimated 3.4 billion of the world’s 7.6 billion in 2018) lived in rural areas. Individuals in rural areas often have poor access to healthcare because of poor accessibility and availability of standard healthcare systems and socio-cultural factors affecting their perception of health compared to the urban population. Though there is a projected decrease in the absolute percentage of the world’s population dwelling in rural areas by 2050, there is also a projected increase projected increase needing of prioritizing rural health. This chapter shall discusses the critical factors that disadvantage the rural population. It also considers the methods used to work out rural healthcare delivery strategies to decrease this disparity in rural areas’ health care facilities.