Question 1

Which of the following best explains why there are so few hospitals in rural areas?

Accepted Answer

Although 75% of U.S. counties are classified as rural, they contain only 20% of the U.S. population. The population density is too low to support a large hospital. There are providers available to serve the population and residents are accepting of health care services, but not as many services are needed because of the lower population density.

Question 2

From which of the following causes are rural residents twice as likely to die from in comparison with urban residents?

Accepted Answer

Residents of rural areas are nearly twice as likely to die of unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle accidents, when compared with their urban counterparts. The rates of chronic diseases, diabetes, and respiratory diseases are more similar to that of urban residents.

Question 3

Which of the following is the most frequent cause of farm fatalities and nonfatal injuries?

Accepted Answer

Agricultural machinery is the most common cause of fatalities and nonfatal injuries of U.S. agricultural workers, including on-farm fatalities among youth under 20 years of age (CDC, NIOSH Program, 2012). Tractor-related accidents, especially rollovers, are the most frequent causes of farm accidents and account for more than one fourth of farm fatalities.

Question 4

A woman stumbled into the rural health clinic and explained that she had an incredible headache. She was sweating and began vomiting into the wastebasket by the intake nurse's desk. Which of the following diagnoses should be anticipated by the nurse?

Accepted Answer

Signs and symptoms of acute pesticide poisoning are fairly clear, and most health providers in rural communities would recognize them. Common symptoms include headache, dizziness, diaphoresis, nausea, and vomiting. If left untreated, those affected may experience a progression of symptoms including dyspnea, bronchospasm, and muscle twitching. Deaths are relatively uncommon, but they do occur. The nurse is reminded that not all farm laborers are men. The symptoms that are being displayed are not typical of acute panic disorder, acute alcohol intoxication, acute appendicitis, or acute meningitis.

Question 5

Which of the following factors would cause a geographic area to be called a frontier area?

Accepted Answer

Areas are classified as rural for populations with fewer than 45 persons per square mile and as frontier for geographic areas with fewer than six people per square mile. Many counties of the Great Plains, Intermountain West, and Alaska are designated frontier. Not all mountain areas are rural (the Appalachian mountain area is not), and geographic location alone does not make an area rural.

Question 6

Which of the following are particularly prevalent in rural areas (more so than in urban areas) of the South?

Accepted Answer

Rural residents in the southern states are more likely to be obese, smoke more heavily if they do smoke, use smokeless tobacco, and engage in sedentary lifestyles. Rates of motor vehicle accidents and suicide are higher in rural areas, although not necessarily the South. Additionally, there is a decreased use of seatbelts and increased use of alcohol in rural areas; however, the textbook mentions that these rates are higher in the rural West than in the rural South. The rates of falls and homicide are not addressed in the textbook.

Question 7

Which of the following facts is noteworthy about adolescent males who are driving without a license in the countryside?

Accepted Answer

Researchers studied the prevalence of unlicensed teenaged drivers compared with licensed drivers and found that they were more likely black or Hispanic and live in rural areas. There is not any research in the text that supports that the other responses are accurate.

Question 8

Which of the following statements best describes how working on a farm is different from working in a factory?

Accepted Answer

Farming is unusual because the home and the worksite are the same. Several types of farming activities are associated with higher-than-expected occurrences of acute and chronic respiratory conditions. Individuals with long-term exposure to grain dusts, such as grain elevator workers and dairy workers, have diminished respiratory function and increased frequency of respiratory symptoms. Occupational asthma and more exotic fungal or toxic gas-related conditions occur in higher frequency in agricultural than nonagricultural populations. Exposure risks to children and spouses may be heightened when farmers wear contaminated clothing and boots into the home, but the same can happen in several industries.

Question 9

Which of the following would be true for a county to be defined as having persistent poverty?

Accepted Answer

Persistent poverty is defined as counties in which 20% of the population has been in poverty over the last 30 years.

Question 10

A nurse is explaining why migrant farmworkers experience cultural barriers when trying to receive care. Which of the following would the nurse include in this explanation?

Accepted Answer

Cultural, linguistic, economic, and mobility barriers all contribute to the nature and magnitude of health problems observed in farmworkers. Cultural and linguistic barriers are the most overt because many of the communities where farmworkers work consider them outsiders. A common misconception among U.S. health care providers is that these farmworkers are from Mexico, with Spanish as their primary language. Farmworkers originate from many communities in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America, and they may speak English, the language of their home country, or several languages.

Question 11

Which of the following describes what has been identified by public health experts as the number one priority in rural areas?

Accepted Answer

Bolin and Gamm (2003) reported that access to health care was the number one priority identified by the majority (73%) of rural health care leaders. Although access to education, telecommunications, and well-paying employment are important, they have not been identified as the number one priority in rural areas.

Question 12

Which of the following employment opportunities are among the most dangerous?

Accepted Answer

Industries with the highest death rates were mining, agriculture, forestry, and fishing, followed by construction, trtansportation, and public utilities.

Question 13

Which of the following best describes the practical importance of the classifications of metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncare areas?

Accepted Answer

The new core-based statistical areas (CBSA) system includes two categories of counties: (1) metropolitan areas and (2) micropolitan areas. Counties that are neither metropolitan nor micropolitan are called "outside CBSAs," also known as noncare areas. Metropolitan areas contain at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more people. A micropolitan area contains a cluster of 10,000 to 50,000 persons. Because the metropolitan statistical area classification is used extensively for congressional policy-making and funding decisions, there could be serious ramifications for health care financing within rural market areas.

Question 14

Which of the following groups is the fastest-growing component of the rural population?

Accepted Answer

Today, the proportion of Hispanic children is the fastest-growing component of the rural population, regardless of region.

Question 15

As a concerned citizen and professional, a nurse encourages the local senators and representatives to support expansion of health clinics for the poverty stricken. Which of the following locations is in most desperate need?

Accepted Answer

In general, MSFW may have the poorest health of any aggregate in the United States and the least access to affordable health care. Thus, a location that serves this population would be most important.

Question 16

Which of the following best explains why companies do not build work places in rural areas where people are anxious to find full-time employment?

Accepted Answer

Counties that have a low-wage economy have difficulty providing the infrastructure needed to provide education for low-wage families. They therefore have difficulty attracting new employers who might contribute to the economic development of a rural area but need a more highly educated workforce. Rural workers are known for their strong work ethic, but they may not have the educational skills that are necessary. Smells from farms is not a typical reason as to why companies do not build in rural areas.

Question 17

Which of the following best explains why the rural population is growing when young persons from rural areas consistently are moving to urban areas to seek employment?

Accepted Answer

Recent demographic changes in rural areas have also included an influx of retirees and others from urban areas who are able to live in rural areas and conduct business through telecommunication and travel. The other responses do not support the current reason for the increase in the rural population.

Question 18

Which of the following compositional factors influences rural health needs?

Accepted Answer

There is a growing emphasis on the distinction between context, which is defined by the characteristics of places of residence, and composition, which is the collective health effects that result from a concentration of persons with certain characteristics. Problems in rural areas are compositional when they derive from individual characteristics of groups of people residing in rural settings. Examples of compositional sources of health disparities include such characteristics as age, education, income, ethnicity, and health behaviors. The environment, geography, and political and social institutions are considered to be characteristics of place.

Question 19

A public health nurse is working in a rural clinic. On the basis of risk, which of the following would be the priority group for care?

Accepted Answer

In general, MSFW may have the poorest health of any aggregate in the United States, and the least access to affordable health care. Eighty-five percent of the MSFW are Hispanic, Latino, or African American.

Question 20

Which of the following statements best describes how firearm injuries are different in rural areas as compared with urban areas?

Accepted Answer

In rural counties, nonfatal firearm injuries occur most often at home compared with urban counties, where injuries occur most often in the streets.

Quiz 23: Rural and Migrant Health