RED DEER – There is scant research into the health status of rural women and what has been found is generally bad news.
When compared to urban women, rural folk live shorter lives, have higher infant mortality and lack good access to doctors and other health-care services.
Beverley Leipert, a nursing professor from the University of Western Ontario, worked for 10 years as a public health nurse in Saskatchewan before becoming the first chair in rural women’s health research at Western. She is also a member of the women’s institutes in Ontario.
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She told delegates at the recent Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada conference in Red Deer that the geographic isolation of farms is at the root of some rural health problems. However, other factors also intrude: rural women tend not to be in the paid workforce so are poorer; they have more children; and they also are more likely to suffer from domestic violence. The result is that women delay a visit to a doctor, are sick for longer and their recovery is more complicated.
By Statistics Canada’s definition, one in five women live in a rural area, which is defined as communities with fewer than10,000 people.
Leipert said she wants to examine the factors beyond disease and illness. For example, she asked if rural girls are encouraged to go to university or whether the family invests only in the boys.
About 30 percent of Canadian farmers are women, but that hasn’t helped much because of the poor returns in agriculture. Leipert said she had a letter from a friend in 1994 that noted she had just hauled a load of grain to the elevator and received 92 cents a bushel. The friend said she had checked her father’s diary and he had hauled the same type of grain in 1950 and received 95 cents a bu.
Besides the special risks from animals, machinery and chemicals in farming, women also tend to pick up the slack in looking after older family members and in volunteering for community events.
Leipert said mental health issues are also a concern because loneliness and depression can deepen the problem. Helpful resources such as nearby supportive people may be hard to reach because they have jobs or the woman doesn’t have a vehicle to go see them.
As well, health education budgets are often slashed to make up for shortfalls in acute care in hospitals. Anonymity and confidentiality can be problems when the pharmacist shops in the same grocery store or everyone asks why your car was parked outside the public health office. Leipert said one way to fend off questions is to park in front of the church because no one wonders what you are doing there.
Leipert has also found good news in her research, mainly the resilience found among rural women. She said women have told her they make a deliberate choice to be positive. Spirituality helps, whether that means the traditional church or simply walking in the fields admiring nature. Women said strength can come from a job, participation in the community and local groups or taking a short getaway to the city for shopping or a concert.
Public health nurses in remote locations have been holding “unfashion shows” to help women feel good about themselves. The women selected for the show wear their most comfortable outfit and pick their favourite music to play while the moderator reads a biography they wrote about themselves. Leipert said it is an empowering event.
