Gestor bibliográfico Crisis y Salud

The current recession is international in scope but affects different places with varying severity. According to the World Bank, poor nations are (and will) bear the brunt of the economic, social, and health fallout from the current recession. As well, it is quite likely that rural regions of developed nations such as Canada, will be disproportionately affected by the current recession, relative to urban places. These more severe adverse effects on health will most likely arise through direct pathways. It may be as health services in rural areas are cut back, or indirectly as the often more fragile and less diversified economies in rural regions are harder hit by the economic downturn than urban economies. By taking an historical perspective on both the timing of the shift in health status between urban and rural places, and the impacts of other major recessions of the past 30 or so years, we may better understand the likely impact of the current recession on the health of rural residents in developed nations. A case study approach may be useful, as in this case which focuses on disparities between urban and rural places in British Columbia (BC), Canada’s western-most province.