民意调查:美国农村居民报告在支付医疗账单、住房或食物方面存在问题
Despite a growing national economy, four in ten rural Americans (40%) say their families have experienced problems affording medical bills, housing, or food in the past few years (see table below). A sizeable share of rural Americans face challenges with financial insecurity, as nearly half (49%) say they cannot afford to pay off an unexpected $1,000 expense right away.
This is the second poll in the Life in Rural America series, conducted among 1,405 adults living in the rural United States. This survey found the vast majority of rural Americans say their communities are safe from crime (88%, see figure below), and a majority (73%) are satisfied with their quality of life.
However, many rural Americans continue to lack adequate health care access. Though most rural Americans have health insurance, about one-quarter (26%) have not been able to get health care when they needed it at some point in the past few years. Nearly one in ten rural adults (8%) say hospitals in their local community have closed down in the past few years.
“Even with major improvements in health insurance coverage over the last decade, it is concerning that one in four rural Americans are struggling to get the health care they need,” said Robert J. Blendon, co-director of the survey and the Richard L. Menschel Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Beyond health care, rural Americans are left unable to participate in the digital economy without reliable, broadband (high-speed) internet access. About one in five rural adults (21%) say accessing high-speed internet is a problem for their family. Among rural adults who use the internet, a majority say they do so to obtain health information (68%), for personal finance (61%), and for work-related activities (54%).
When it comes to homelessness and housing issues, one-third of rural Americans (33%) say homelessness is a problem in their local community, while more than one in ten have experienced several types of housing problems in their current residence, including the safety of their drinking water (17%) and mold or other environmental problems (16%).
In addition, while nearly one in five rural adults say they always or often feel isolated or lonely (18%), most report having at least a few people nearby they can rely on for help or support (92%).
“An important goal in funding this research is to help build a more complete understanding of the challenges to being healthy and the strengths of rural places in fostering good health,” said RWJF President and CEO Richard Besser. “While it’s encouraging to see neighbors looking out for each other and strong networks of social support, it’s sobering to see that rural families struggle to pay for housing or food, go without needed medical care and lack financial security and essentials like high-speed internet access.”
This report also includes key findings among the following rural subgroups: adults living with disabilities, Black adults, Native American adults, adults living in mobile homes, and low-income adults. Key findings are also presented by education, age, and region.
" data-isabstract="false" class="cmp-text">新泽西州普林斯顿大学-根据…NPR/罗伯特·伍德·约翰逊基金会/哈佛大学陈曾熙公共卫生学院民意调查尽管大多数美国农村人对改善当地社区的影响(62%)持乐观态度,但一小部分人在一些地区遇到了严重的问题,包括财务不安全、难以获得负担得起的优质医疗保健、缺乏高速互联网接入、住房和孤立/孤独。
尽管国家经济在增长,但40%的美国农村居民表示,在过去几年里,他们的家庭在支付医疗费用、住房或食物方面遇到了困难(见下表)。相当大比例的美国农村人口面临着财务不安全的挑战,近一半(49%)的人表示,他们无法立即支付意外的1000美元支出。
这是第二次投票美国乡村生活该研究对1405名生活在美国农村的成年人进行了调查。这项调查发现,绝大多数美国农村人认为他们的社区远离犯罪(88%,见下图),大多数人(73%)对他们的生活质量感到满意。
然而,许多美国农村地区仍然缺乏足够的医疗保健。尽管大多数美国农村居民都有医疗保险,但在过去几年里,约有四分之一(26%)的人在需要的时候无法获得医疗保健。近十分之一的农村成年人(8%)表示,在过去几年里,当地社区的医院已经关闭。
他说:“尽管过去十年来医疗保险覆盖面有了重大改善,但令人担忧的是,四分之一的美国农村人口仍难以获得所需的医疗保健。罗伯特J.布伦登,该调查的联合主任,哈佛大学陈曾熙公共卫生学院卫生政策和政治分析Richard L. Menschel教授。
除了医疗保健之外,如果没有可靠的宽带(高速)互联网接入,美国农村地区就无法参与数字经济。大约五分之一(21%)的农村成年人表示,接入高速互联网对他们的家庭来说是一个问题。在使用互联网的农村成年人中,大多数人表示他们这样做是为了获取健康信息(68%)、个人理财(61%)和与工作有关的活动(54%)。
当谈到无家可归和住房问题时,三分之一的美国农村人(33%)表示无家可归是他们当地社区的一个问题,而超过十分之一的人在他们目前的住所中经历了几种类型的住房问题,包括饮用水安全(17%)和霉菌或其他环境问题(16%)。
此外,虽然近五分之一的农村成年人表示他们总是或经常感到孤立或孤独(18%),但大多数人表示他们附近至少有几个人可以依靠帮助或支持(92%)。
RWJF主席兼首席执行官Richard Besser说:“资助这项研究的一个重要目标是帮助人们更全面地了解健康面临的挑战以及农村地区在促进健康方面的优势。”“虽然看到邻居们互相照顾和强大的社会支持网络令人鼓舞,但看到农村家庭难以支付住房或食物,没有必要的医疗保健,缺乏经济保障和高速互联网接入等必需品,这令人警醒。”
本报告还包括以下农村亚群体的主要调查结果:残疾成年人、黑人成年人、美洲原住民成年人、居住在移动房屋中的成年人和低收入成年人。主要调查结果还按教育、年龄和地区分列。
方法
这项研究中的民意调查是由哈佛公共卫生学院的哈佛民意研究项目(HORP)的研究人员与罗伯特伍德约翰逊基金会和国家公共广播电台合作开展的一系列调查的一部分。
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" data-isabstract="false" class="cmp-text">关于哈佛陈曾熙公共卫生学院
哈佛陈曾熙公共卫生学院汇集了来自许多学科的专业专家,以教育新一代的全球卫生领导者,并提出强有力的想法,改善世界各地人民的生活和健康。作为一个由顶尖科学家、教育工作者和学生组成的社区,我们共同努力,将创新理念从实验室带到人们的生活中——不仅取得科学突破,而且努力改变个人行为、公共政策和医疗保健实践。每年,哈佛大学400多名教职员工教授来自世界各地的1000多名全日制学生,并通过在线和高管教育课程培训数千名学生。该学院成立于1913年,前身是哈佛-麻省理工学院卫生官员学院,被公认为美国最古老的公共卫生专业培训项目。
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