Rural public health: policy and research opportunities

Changes in the health care system, medicine, and technology as well as in the characteristics of rural communities raise issues that impact the responsiveness of the rural public health system to emerging threats to health. These issues, which are systemic in nature and primarily involve the infrastructure of public health, include the capacity of rural public health to manage population health, utilize information technology, monitor performance of the essential public health functions, develop leadership and the public health workforce, and promote the interaction and integration of public health and health care. This article provides an overview of policy and research implications, and it suggests that each of these issues contributes to the capacity of public health to effectively improve the outcomes of health in rural communities.