Rural women are more likely to be smokers, smoke more cigarettes per day, and have started smoking at a younger age than urban women. Rural women are less likely to use alcohol. Rural women are more likely to have a higher level of activity in their daily work. Rural women visit the dentist less frequently than urban women, but there does not appear to be a difference in the frequency of doctor visits. If women do not have a usual source for their health care, they are more likely to visit hospital ERs or urgent health care facilities.
Rural women are less likely to have had outpatient surgery in the past year than urban women.
D. Perceived Barriers to Health Care 1. Rural women are more likely to have had difficulty obtaining doctor's services in the last year than urban women. Rural women are less likely than urban women to claim insurance problems as a difficulty in obtaining health care.