Report Shows Rural Missourians Have More Health Problems

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has released its report on rural health.

The report finds that Missourians living in a rural county have worse health behaviors, worse health outcomes, and more difficulty accessing the health care services they need in comparison to those in urban areas.

Rural counties are defined by having less than 150 people per square mile and does not contain any part of a central city in a Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Out of the 115 counties in the state, 99 of them are considered rural.

According to the report, contributing factors to rural health issues are lower rates of insurance coverage, fewer healthcare providers, increasing difficulty accessing basic hospital services and poverty.