Health Related Literature

Related Literature Health. According to the World Health Organization, health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of infirmity. A healthy community as described by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2010 report is one that continuously creates and improves both its physical and social environments, helping people to support one another in aspects of daily life and to develop to their fullest potential. Healthy places are those designed and built to improve the quality of life for all people who live, work, worship, learn, and play within their borders -- where every person is free to make choices amid a variety of healthy, available, accessible, and affordable

Health care facilities in these areas are small and often provide limited services. Often, due to geographic distance, extreme weather conditions, environmental and climatic barriers, lack of public transportation, and challenging roads, rural residents may be limited/ prohibited from accessing health care services. The difficulties of access to health care facilities may impair outcomes by increasing patients’ physical and emotional stress, reducing the likelihood of seeking follow-up care, and limiting proximate family support. ( Periyakoil,

service users, health workers and health managers) and collective actors (e.g. whole communities and community groups) are recognized and given priority in the day-to-day operations of the health system. To achieve people-centred health systems, there is a need for an approach to governance which incorporates the roles and relations of all health system actors (Abimbola et al., 2014). A high performance rural health care system is responsive to the unique needs of each rural community and each resident of that community. At the individual level, health care is a partnership between the patient and his or her health care team, each taking responsibility for health decisions and behaviors. The primary care team serves as the hub of patient information flow and interactions. Shared decision making and similar tools are used to evaluate treatment options in ways that respectfully consider both patient preferences/values, and clinical/scientific evidence. Providers are also culturally competent, delivering care and information that is sensitive to an individual’s or family’s unique needs (Mueller et al.,