US Priority Populations

Priority Populations
In definition, a priority population is that which is being targeted by a particular program for a given course. When defining priority populations, many people dwell on the social factors of the population, including race, culture, ethnicity, gender, income, sexual orientation and language. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality uses the priority populations that were earlier defined by Congress in the Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999. This includes children, women, racial minorities, the elderly, ethnic minorities, low-income, rural, inner-city and those with special health needs (e.g. those with chronic illnesses and various disabilities) (Tyler & Hassen, 2015).
The rural Americans face considerable health disparities. These can be said to be the differences in their health conditions as compared to that of the general population. The main factors that point to health disparities include high number of diseased or disabled persons, high death rates, extensive suffering, and lower life expectancy. These may be as a result of geographical isolation, unemployment, ethnicity, and low social-economic status, among others. All these factors lead to limited access to health care, difficulty in solving health issues and cyclic problems. (Rural Health Information Hub, 2017)
The above mentioned health disparities mostly affect rural communities in the deep south, mid west and western states such as Alaska, Hawaii and Appalachia. These areas suffer lack of doctors and the populations are generally poor. Their remote location also contributes to lack of access to quality health care. Unlike urban populations, rural populations generally have lower income, higher levels of poverty, lower literacy levels, high rates of death and a large number of uninsured people. (Warshaw, 2017)
The majority of rural dwellers live on ranches, farms, frontiers or reservations. Accessing the nearest health care provider may mean travelling for long distances. Thus someone must take some hours off work to consult the health care provider. It also takes a long time for authorities to respond to emergencies in the rural areas. This is a great danger to patients who may require such urgent attention. (Warshaw, 2017)
This has led a number of players in the medical sector to develop strategies that will improve the quality of health care in these rural areas. Two of these strategies are Frontier Community Health Integration Program (FCHIP) and Frontier Extended Stay Clinics (FESC). These have support from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. The former, FCHIP, aims at improving access to quality health care in frontier communities. FESC on the other hand helps those very sick patients who cannot be be transferred immediately to hospitals, perhaps due to ill weather. Another strategy employed in the rural areas is the team-based car models, for example the Patient-Centered Medical Homes. (Rural Health Information Hub, 2017)
It is upon the rural health care facilities to join larger health care networks so as to improve the quality of health care in the rural communities. Affiliating themselves this way boosts the financial status of the rural facility as well makes available additional resources for the facility. The rural facilities are therefore able to offer services they could not otherwise have offered. (Rural Health Information Hub, 2017)
The importance of an adequate workforce cannot be overemphasized when it comes to providing quality health care. The health care professionals must be must be used to the maximum by the rural communities. Thus the professional may be allowed to work at the top of their licence or work in teams.
Lastly, Telehealth has greatly improved access to health care in the rural areas. With Telehealth, the rural dwellers can consult specialists while right at home. The specialists can also be consulted by the local health care providers via Telehealth.

References
Rural Health Information Hub. (2017, September 6). Healthcare Access in Rural Communities Introduction - Rural Health Information Hub. Retrieved September 24, 2018, from https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/healthcare-access
Tyler, I., & Hassen, N. (2015). Priority Populations Project: Understanding and Identifying Priority Populations for Public Health in Ontario (pp. 32-35, Tech. No. ISBN 978-1-4606-6562-6). Ontario: Queen’s Printer for Ontario. doi:https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/eRepository/Priority_Populations_Technical_Report.pdf
Warshaw, R. (2017, October 30). Health Disparities Affect Millions in Rural U.S. Communities. Retrieved September 24, 2018, from https://news.aamc.org/patient-care/article/health-disparities-affect-millions-rural-us-commun/