Health

Basic Aspects of the Issue

The health issue in rural Manitoba is dominated by two dynamics. First, there is the overall cuts to health care budgets which plague all of society, matched by increasing costs. The second issue is the depopulation of the rural scene coupled with a widely dispersed residual population.

Efforts to change over to a preventative and public health model of medicine rather than critical care work which is taking place in the larger society is only part of the solution. The critical care that is left to be done is often of a diverse nature and the farm industry is claimed by some to be more dangerous now than working underground in a mine. Medivac systems for widely dispersed workers is being introduced in many places across the prairies.

The aging population base is yet another problem for health care. With so many of the former residents going to the city there is a much smaller caring group left, and many of these people are widely dispersed and extremely busy. The needs of the chronically infirm and elderly population, and their needs for as rich a life-style as possible in terms of activities and human contact are all intermixed in the health care issue.

Rural Development Institute Research Studies

• "An Overview of Select Aspects of Health Care Facilities and Services in Rural Manitoba" - Richard Rounds and Alexes MacLean
  This study pertains to the economic side of health care. Transfer payments are used to distribute money to rural areas. The study gives a benchmark status and statement of role of he health care system in the business matrix.

  An interesting portrait of rural scene can be put together when a set of profiles is assembled dealing with education, population and demographics, business, and essential infrastructure.

  The study looks at health care in regards to:

  • demographics and population changes
  • Location and size of facilities
  • Number employed
  • budget spent

• "Linkages Between Human Capital and Rural Development" - Ray Bollman
  This study concludes that the main connection between Human Capital development and Rural Development is adequate nutrition for children up to age three and adequate nurturing. This linkage surpassed the dearth of university graduates in rural areas in terms of significance.

• "Workers With Disabilities in the Westman Region" - Robert Curle and Richard Rounds
  This study looks at the nature of the disabled population in the Westman region in terms of :
  • number of disabled people and nature of their disabilities
  • Agency services
  • needed services

• "A Preceptorship Model for Nurses in Rural Health Care Facilities" -M. Enid Pottinger
  This report concerns a training system to introduce nurses into the rural scene which has few supports, fast required response times, and diverse demands. It is a form of apprenticeship - mentoring.

• "A Survey of Recreation, Health, and Facility Needs in the Neepawa District of Manitoba" - Richard Rounds and Joan Rollheiser
  This study looked at the needs and desires of the Neepawa area by community survey. Though the material is area specific, the research model might be a good one for replication elsewhere.

Other Resources