Ruiz Sienna, Okere Uzoma C, Eggers Michelle, O'Leary Catina, Prusacyk Beth, Housten Ashley J
Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Health Literacy Media, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Health Equity. 2022 Sep 1;6(1):658-661. doi: 10.1089/heq.2022.0076. eCollection 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic has widened the health disparities between urban and rural communities as rural populations face more limited health care capacities and worse COVID-19 outcomes than their urban counterparts. When this article was written, congress was debating continuing federal funds for free COVID-19 testing, vaccines, and treatment. In this article, we discuss the potential consequences rural communities may experience should such funding fail to be approved. Peer-reviewed literature and our research indicate these budget cuts could harm rural communities' financial distress, risk of severe disease outcomes, and trust in health care systems, making continued funding for public health resources critical for vulnerable rural communities.
新冠疫情加剧了城乡社区之间的健康差距，因为农村人口面临的医疗保健能力更为有限，且新冠疫情的后果比城市人口更为严重。在撰写本文时，国会正在辩论是否继续提供联邦资金用于免费的新冠病毒检测、疫苗和治疗。在本文中，我们讨论了如果此类资金未能获批，农村社区可能会面临的潜在后果。同行评议的文献以及我们的研究表明，这些预算削减可能会损害农村社区的财务困境、重症疾病后果风险以及对医疗保健系统的信任，因此继续为公共卫生资源提供资金对于脆弱的农村社区至关重要。
