Primary Care Issues in Rural Populations.

Rural populations have different demographics and health issues compared to their metropolitan counterparts, including higher mortalities from ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, unintentional injuries, motor vehicle accidents, and suicide. Rural primary care physicians (PCPs) have a unique position in counseling, preventing, and treating common issues that are specific to rural populations, such as motor vehicle accidents, unintentional injuries, pesticide poisoning, occupational respiratory illnesses, and mental illness. They are also in a unique position to address prevention and social determinants of health. Rural PCPs can use multiple strategies to improve access to medical care.

Weaving public health education into the fabric of a family medicine residency.

Policymakers and accrediting bodies have recognized the importance of integrating public health, population health, and prevention into graduate medical education programs. The high prevalence of chronic illness, coupled with the impact of behavioral and societal determinants of health, necessitate an urgent call for family medicine residencies to prepare future leaders to meet these challenges. The University of Massachusetts Worcester Family Medicine Residency recently developed an integrated curriculum that strives to develop a culture of incorporating fundamental public health principles into everyday practice. This public health curriculum was designed to integrate new topics within the current residency structure through longitudinal and concentrated experiences. This strategy has substantially improved public health and prevention education without substantial impact on the already strained residency curricular structure. This paper describes the integration of public health and prevention education into a family medicine residency to help residents acquire the fundamental skills necessary to improve a population's health.