Village elders participate in a training for<unk>  care workers in Ethiopia. In medicine,<unk>  or<unk>  medicine is the interdisciplinary study of health and health care delivery in<unk>  environments. The concept of<unk>  incorporates many fields, including geography, midwifery, nursing, sociology, economics, and telehealth or telemedicine. Research shows that the healthcare needs of individuals living in<unk>  areas are different from those in urban areas, and<unk>  areas often suffer from a lack of access to healthcare. These differences are the result of geographic, demographic, socioeconomic, workplace, and personal health factors. For example, many<unk>  communities have a large proportion of elderly people and children. With relatively few people of working age (20–50 years of age), such communities have a high dependency ratio. People living in<unk>  areas also tend to have poorer socioeconomic conditions, less education, higher rates of tobacco and alcohol use, and higher mortality rates when compared to their urban counterparts. There are also high rates of poverty among<unk>  dwellers in many parts of the world, and poverty is one of the biggest social determinants of health. Many countries have made it a priority to increase funding for research on<unk> . These efforts have led to the development of several research institutes with<unk>  mandates, including the Centre for<unk>  and Northern Health Research in Canada, Countryside Agency in the United Kingdom, the Institute of<unk>  in Australia, and the New Zealand Institute of<unk> . These research efforts are designed to help identify the healthcare needs of<unk>  communities and provide policy solutions to ensure those needs are met. The concept of incorporating the needs of<unk>  communities into government services is sometimes referred to as<unk>  proofing.
Rural health
Personal medicine
Race and health
Caregiving by country
Refugee health
Bodywork 
Drug policy
Road traffic safety