ABSTRACT
In 1976, James Copp, a rural sociologist, asked the simple question: How healthy are rural people? Both economic and minority status contribute substantially to the health status of rural southern counties. Virtually all rural Americans are at a locational disadvantage with regard to access to professional health care services. The quality of life of rural Americans would be improved if health status improved and if providers of professional health care services were more accessible. Good health of both urban and rural Americans is a result of nutritional, environmental, behavioral, socioeconomic, and, to an unknown extent, professional health care system contributions. Rural areas suffer from a relative lack of access to many of the central medical care resources. Research also needs to determine what behavior and/or environmental modifications could be implemented that would be more cost-effective and efficacious in improving health than the expansion of traditional medical services.
