Finding the Barriers to Optimal Cardiology Care in Rural America in the 21st Century

Sakina Ali*, Abbas Ali, MD, Syed Jafri, Ph.D
WVU Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Presentation Category: Science & Techonology (Oral Presentation)

Student’s Major: Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics

Cardiovascular conditions are one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in America. A disparity in cardiovascular care and outcomes exists between rural and urban areas. In this paper, we describe important features of the rural population, hospitals, and health care issues related to access physician factors, taking West Virginia as a case study. We will explore future projections as well as propose solutions. Although the physician workforce has grown in the last twelve years, access to cardiologists were consistently observed to be lower in rural areas. Besides access issues, our study also discover that patients are more vulnerable by the presence of comorbidities such as overweight or obese, smoking habits, excess alcohol consumption and limited physical activity. Typically, patients travel long distances to access care. Moreover, the treatment of life- threatening situations in rural areas is suboptimal, and the lack of cardiologists negatively projects on the quality of life in rural communities. Finally, this paper explores strategies to bridge these gaps such as telemedicine and incentivizing physicians to practice in rural areas.

Funding: Not funded

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) & accompanying HONR 297-level course