title: Patterns of health services utilization in rural Canada.
abstract: CONTEXT OF THIS STUDY: Canadians value ease of access to their health services. Although many studies have focused on accessibility to health services in Canada, few have examined rural-urban differences in this aspect, particularly from a national perspective. Yet disparities in access to health services exist between rural and urban populations, as do the challenges of delivering health care to more remote areas or to those with small populations. "Canada's Rural Communities: Understanding Rural Health and Its Determinants" is a three-year research project co-funded by the Canadian Population Health Initiative (CPHI) of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). It involves investigators from the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research (CRaNHR) at Laurentian University, and other researchers. The first publication of the research project was How Healthy Are Rural Canadians? An Assessment of Their Health Status and Health Determinants; this, the second publication, is a descriptive analysis of the utilization patterns of a broad range of health services by rural residents compared to their urban counterparts.
authors: Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. rpong@laurentian.ca
authors: R W
authors: RW
authors: Pong
authors: M
authors: M
authors: DesMeules
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Heng
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Lagacé
authors: J R
authors: JR
authors: Guernsey
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Kazanjian
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Manuel
authors: J R
authors: JR
authors: Pitblado
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Bollman
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Koren
authors: M P
authors: MP
authors: Dressler
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Wang
authors: W
authors: W
authors: Luo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D003710:Demography; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009819:Office Visits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013038:Specialization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013997:Time Factors; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014850:Waiting Lists; D055815:Young Adult