Rural residents face distinct health challenges due to economic conditions, cultural/behavioural factors, and health provider shortages that combine to impose striking disparities in health outcomes among rural populations. This comprehensive text about the issues of rural public health is the only book to focus on rural health from the perspectives of public health and prevention.

It covers specific diseases and disorders faced by rural populations, service delivery challenges, practitioner shortfalls in rural areas, and promising community health approaches and preventive measures. The text also addresses rural health care ethics and international perspectives. Nearly all chapters offer best practice recommendations and evidence-based prevention programmes. This book is a cohesive, centralised resource for researchers, public health practitioners, health organisations, and graduate education programmes that focus on the public health of rural populations.