CONNECTING COMMUNITIES TO BETTER HEALTH

Rural Health

Defining rural in Washington can be a complicated question, with a different answer depending on who is creating the definition. Some classification systems define how rural an area is based on population density; others utilize economic or commuting data. Regardless of how you define it, rural residents are less healthy than the state as a whole.

Western Washington Area Health Education Center (WWAHEC) has served as a state leader in the development of multiple strategies to address rural health needs. Our programs work with local and state-wide partners to address the issue of health disparities in western Washington.

 

Rural-Urban Community Area

The Rural-Urban Community Area (RUCA) system map shows the rural areas of Washington using commuting connections to show the relationships between areas. Download map as a PDF.

 In this map, geographic areas in the state are assigned to one of four categories:

  • Urban Core: Built-up areas with at least 50,000 people. These areas correspond to US Census Bureau’s Urbanized Areas.

  • Sub-Urban: Areas with a high number of residents that commute to Urban Cores. These areas also include all other areas where 30-49 percent of the population commutes to a Urban Core for work.

  • Large Rural Town: Towns with populations between 10,000 and 49,999 and their surrounding rural areas with 10 percent or more of residents commuting to these towns, as well as secondary commuting flows of 10 percent or more to Urban Cores.

  • Small Town and Isolated Rural Areas: Towns with fewer than 10,000 people and their surrounding commuter areas and other isolated rural areas with more than one hour driving distance to a nearest city.


Rural Health Disparities

The Washington State Department of Health reported on the 14 indicators for which residents in rural communities are less healthy than the state as a whole. These indicators include the rate of teenage births, children who are hospitalized due to injuries and the percentage of adults who delay seeing a doctor due to cost. Fewer rural residents receive breast cancer, colorectal cancer or dental screening and more adults and children lack health insurance coverage.

The 2010 updated report is available HERE.

Statewide Office of Rural Health

The Washington Statewide Office of Rural Health is a partnership of the Washington State Department of Health, Western Washington Area Health Education Center (WWAHEC), University of Washington AHEC Program Office, Washington State University, and the WSU Extension Area Health Education Center.

This partnership was created to:  

  • Establish a clearinghouse to collect and disseminate information pertaining to rural health issues.
  • Provide leadership and advocacy for Washington rural perspectives.
  • Arrange opportunities for rural interests to participate in policy development and decision-making.
  • Provide access, directly or indirectly, to state, federal and private technical and financial assistance.
  • Initiate actions that produce fair allocation of resources. Essential resources include qualified health care professionals, adequate and appropriate facilities, and other support.

Opportunities for
Health Professions Students

    • Rural Outreach Nursing Education (RONE)
    • Rural/Underserved Opportunities Program (R/UOP)
    • Rural Urban Nursing Outreach (RUN)
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