Compared to the rest of the nation, rural America bears a disparate burden of healthcare challenges. Americans living in rural areas suffer from higher rates of chronic disease, such as hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, and high cholesterol, and have higher rates of disability or death due to unintentional injury. PCORI seeks to reduce such outcomes disparities by funding comparative effectiveness studies that identify the best options for eliminating these problems in ways that answer the questions most important to patients and those who care for them.
Although much is known about the factors leading to disproportionately poorer health outcomes in rural Americans, there is far less evidence about the effectiveness of specific options to address this problem. It is clear, however, that patients, caregivers, clinicians, and the broader healthcare community in rural areas often lack the information needed to make informed healthcare decisions.
Click here to read the full Notes from the Field: Improving Healthcare Outcomes in Rural Settings
