Addressing Rural Social Isolation as a Health and Mortality Risk Factor

Social isolation, defined as a lack of contact with friends, family members, neighbors, and society at large, is directly related to increased morbidity and mortality, both of which are elevated in rural areas, compared with urban areas. Addressing social isolation should be viewed as a matter of primary prevention and as imperative to population health. The purpose of this project was to describe rural/urban differences in the prevalence of social isolation, as well as to identify challenges and strategies related to addressing rural social isolation in order to inform policy-making.

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