Access to primary care continues to be a concern in both rural and urban underserved areas. Whether measured in terms of health professional shortage areas, medically underserved areas, or medically underserved populations, shortages of primary care providers exist in many rural and central city areas. "Anyone in rural primary care has to enjoy the personal interaction with these down-to-earth people, who present as they are," (Cohen, 1998)."Whether they're barefoot or they've been out on the shrimp boat all day, they know they can come to the clinic and be treated with the respect they deserve." (Strickland, 1998) Said Dr. Eugene Stead You can practice in a huge metropolis and still have to manage patients who do not have ready access to laboratory or radiology services or to specialists.
Many seasoned clinicians in a medically underserved area would agree Part of their practice is confronting social issues in communities and integrating medical management with programs that address drug abuse, housing, nutrition, violence reduction, employment, education, and transportation. While practicing in an urban area the biggest advantage of all is that all kinds of medical help is at your service. Urban respondents were more likely to indicate a willingness to practice in an urban underserved area 58% and 29%, respectively, and rural respondents were more likely to indicate willingness to practice in a rural underserved area 91% compared to 74%.
Although this willingness is likely a consequence of current practice site status—that is, urban or rural—it is interesting to note that, for urban and rural respondents, a large majority indicated a greater willingness to practice in a rural underserved area. Rural areas generally lack employers who provide health insurance, and rural populations are weighted toward the elderly, who can afford little for goods and services beyond basic necessities.
Likewise, inner-city populations suffer from a high level of unemployment and a lack of jobs that provide health insurance. Providers of medical care in these areas must be acutely aware of how limited money is, even for needed services.
