title: Hospitalizations in a southern rural community: an application of the 'ecology model'.
abstract: The purpose of this study is to re-examine the concepts of health services utilization presented by White and his colleagues in 'The Ecology of Medical Care'. We re-test their model in a rural population in the southern United States using longitudinal instead of cross-sectional data and find that the general principles of the 'Ecology' model do, indeed, apply to rural populations like Rougemont/Bahama. Use of this model has implications for modifying and improving the organization of the health care delivery system and for a fundamental change of emphasis in medical education.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006764:Hospitals, Community / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina; D044469:Racial Groups; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors