Nursing perspectives on the health care of rural elders

Nurses can play a significant role in providing culturally sensitive, community-based health care to rural elders. Health promotion, education, and coordination of care across settings are needed. Unfortunately, rural elders have limited access to nursing care and health care services in general. Inadequate financial support and inflexible reimbursement continue to impede accessibility to health care in those communities. Interdisciplinary collaboration and education models, nurse-managed clinics, and other innovative programs to improve quality and accessibility of health care for rural elders are being explored and evaluated.