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Services geared toward substance abuse aren't as readily available in rural areas. Some rural areas have a large amount of substance use issues, such as populations in Appalachia, making this problematic. Other research has highlighted gaps in maternity care, with rural mothers more likely to live long distances from needed services, in addition to being more likely to give birth prematurely or in a place that is not a hospital.

Working conditions
Rural areas often have fewer job opportunities and higher unemployment rates than urban areas. The professions that are available are often physical in nature, including farming, forestry, fishing, manufacturing, and mining. These occupations are often accompanied by greater health and safety hazards due to the use of complex machinery, exposure to chemicals, working hours, noise pollution, harsher climates, and physical labor. Rural work forces thus report higher rates of life-threatening injuries.

Personal health
Lifestyle and personal health choices also affect the health and expected longevity of individuals in rural areas. People from rural areas report higher rates of smoking, exposure to second-hand smoke, and obesity than those in urban areas. These individuals also lead more sedentary lives according to research conducted by the CDC. Health conditions like developmental conditions and mental illnesses are found in greater prevalence among kids in rural areas as well. Additionally, rural areas often have low rates of fruit and vegetable consumption even where farming is prevalent.

While homicide rates are lower in rural areas, death by injury, suicide, and poisoning are significantly more prevalent. For example, suicide statistics have been negatively correlated with population numbers in research conducted in Canada, shown by the three times greater frequency of suicide in the Canadian countryside. A similar correlation has been found in the United States, though with less drastic differences in the frequency for each population. Typically, in considering the values worldwide, these numbers are greater for males and for citizens of areas with a focus on agriculture.

The prevalence of rural suicide is thought to stem from a variety of factors. Rural communities more frequently have residents who work in agriculture. The nature of agricultural work can lead to residents attempting to ignore their mental health since it is difficult for them to step back from their responsibilities due to it being necessary for certain tasks to continue being done. Due to factors such as long hours and worries about proper growing conditions, agricultural work is also both physically and mentally taxing. There are stresses that rural residents frequently experience as well that contribute to poor mental health including economic struggles.

One theory as to why rural residents are depressed to begin with regards contact with pesticides. Research has found this to be a risk factor for mental health problems, including anxiety and depression and there is evidence that suicide risk increases as well. Those in rural areas are naturally more likely to come into frequent contact with pesticides, which can also cause people to feel more stressed and irritable. Pesticides play another important role in rural suicide rates since around the world, rural suicides are often committed by ingesting them.

Once they have developed mental health conditions, it can be harder for those in rural areas to get help as well. Less medical resources are typically present in rural places, including mental health services. In addition to a lower quantity of available services, quality is also an issue, as rural mental health professionals are typically of lower caliber. The acceptability of these services is also lower for minorities in these places. For example, there typically aren't translation services in rural mental health care settings, which makes it difficult for minority populations to seek help. Additionally, it can be discouraging to travel a long way for those who struggle with their mental health and live in places that don't have adequate care options. Besides lacking quality service, those in rural areas are also frequently missing sufficient social support systems. This is likely explained in part by the fewer total residents in rural communities and the large physical distances that tend to separate people within those communities.

Due to prominent stigma, people living in rural areas are also unlikely to accept help. It is also hard for people seeking help in rural small towns to do so without others finding out, causing the person to become the subject of gossip. This discourages people in rural areas from pursuing treatment. Additionally, In such small communities, it is hard to find a mental health professional that one doesn't know in some other capacity, which is a barrier to seeking treatment as well.

Senior citizens often live in rural areas. When it comes to mental health, this population suffers similarly with greater likelihood of mental conditions than those in other types of communities. The problem of decreased social interaction characteristic of rural areas is more substantial for the elderly. Veterans are another group more likely to live in rural places. When they return to their rural communities, they struggle to find adequate services for conditions like PTSD. Young people in rural areas also struggle significantly with mental health and are more likely to commit suicide.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare also reports higher rates of interpersonal violence in rural communities.

There is some evidence showing some rural residents tend to have better health than those living in urban areas. Rural populations include agricultural workers, who have been shown to be less likely to develop some diseases. For example, strokes and cancer are seen less frequently. Agricultural workers specifically seem to have lifestyle patterns that lead to better health than their urban peers. Due to the physical nature of their occupation, agricultural workers are typically more active. Drinking and smoking are also less prominent among those in this group. However, farmers have very dangerous jobs, creating negative health impacts. The frequency of death on the job for agricultural workers is significantly higher than in other fields in the United States. Annually, 10% of agricultural workers are likely to be hurt on the job in the U.S., with some studies reporting rates that are even higher. This leads to significant estimated expenses due to medical costs and lost earnings.

Telemedicine
By eliminating expenses for the travel that would have been required to get to those appointments, which can be significant in rural areas, telemedicine has increased healthcare affordability for rural residents.

Telemedicine's reach is limited by the greater likelihood that rural residents do not possess the Internet service required to utilize it.