Patients in rural communities receive worse care in the hospital. According to a study by the Association of Rural Mayors of France (AMRF), revealed by France Bleu this Monday, November 13, “location in the countryside becomes a determining factor in inequalities in access to hospital care.”
Based on the analysis of the geographical distribution of more than 18 million hospital stays carried out in France during 2021, geographer Emmanuel Vigneron concludes that “with equal age and sex, inhabitants of very sparsely populated rural areas consume 16 % less hospital care than the national average.
Compared to residents of urban areas, “isolated rural residents” consume 20% less hospital care, a figure that rises to 30% if we consider vital sessions such as dialysis and chemotherapy.
Determining role of distance
Taking the example of interventional cardiology, whose care is up to 15% less frequent in rural areas, Emmanuel Vigneron describes “a two-speed France”.
“Everything happens as if large sectors of the territory have not yet benefited or have not benefited enough from what constitutes a great progress that began… more than 40 years ago!” alarms the researcher.
The study highlights the “determining role of distance in the use of hospital care.” It is evident that “the longer I live in a university hospital, the fewer advantages I have to have surgery,” summarizes the document, which shows that “living far from the offer is an important factor for not receiving coverage,” as well as “the enormous ” generated by transportation.
In April 2023, a previous study commissioned by the Association of Rural Mayors of France (AMRF) showed that life expectancy is shorter in rural areas than in urban areas.
Source: BFM TV
