Keywords
Rural health, geriatrics, IPE, interprofessional collaboration, aging in place, healthcare, patient
Disciplines
Health Services Administration | Public Health
Mentor
Dr. Kristin Hedges
Abstract
The following literature review and analysis compiles information regarding ways to improve rural geriatric healthcare accessibility through the use of interprofessional care and outreach. I also wish to bring to light the various deficiencies often seen in this realm of care, and the reasons behind the inadequate rural physician retention rates. Using this background information, I compiled various collaborative approaches which seek to ease the strain faced by the healthcare system and its elderly patients.
Improving healthcare accessibility through the use of interprofessional care and outreach is an essential facet in geriatric medicine. By exploring the deficiencies of geriactric healthcare in rural and underserved areas, as well as highlighting methods that are being implemented to better serve their geriactric patients, we can identify ways in which to restructure our care systems. This review seeks to better understand the barriers that lead to decreased rural physician and geriatric specialist retention rates, evaluate the causality of insufficient healthcare access due to pre-existing barriers on rural geriactric patients, and compare the effectiveness of various collaborative interprofessional solutions to the lack of geriactic health care available.
ScholarWorks Citation
Calvachi, Capriana, "Improving Health Care Accessibility among Geriatric Patients in Rural Communities" (2020). Honors Projects. 803.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/honorsprojects/803
