One in five Americans lives in a rural area.
Americans living in rural areas face more health problems and difficulty accessing health care than people living in cities for the following reasons:
- Little supply of clinical specialist staff
- Hospital closures
- Long distances to hospitals, specialists and pharmacies
- Lack of public transport
These factors could make living with COPD more difficult.
What is COPD?
COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a progressive lung disease that causes inflammation of the airways and makes breathing difficult.
COPD is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States.
COPD in rural areas
1 in 12 people in rural areas have COPD, compared to 1 in 20 in urban areas.
Compared to people living in cities, people in rural areas are:
- 2 times more likely to develop COPD.
- You are more likely to go to the hospital for COPD.
- More likely to die from COPD.
Why COPD is worse in rural areas
People in rural areas:
- They are more likely to smoke
- They have fewer smoking cessation programs
- They are more likely to work in industries where they are exposed to pollutants
- They live with higher levels of indoor pollution because they burn wood or coal for heating or cooking
- They have more medical problems that can make COPD worse
- You have less money to buy medications to treat COPD
- They are more likely to not have health insurance
- They have less access to medical care, including specialists who treat COPD
- They may have more difficulty obtaining a COPD diagnosis and treatment
How to Treat COPD in Rural America
- Monitor the progression and symptoms of this disease to see if they worsen
- Use this information as an early warning and grab attention
- Use telemedicine to:
- Remote monitoring to track symptoms, trends and triggers
- Digital pulmonary rehabilitation to learn strategies
- Routine and timely care
- Plan transportation in advance
- Insurance can cover transportation or nonprofit organizations can help
- Medicaid is required to pay for non-emergency medical transportation
- Prepare a COPD action plan with:
- Your medication
- Here’s how to know if it’s time to seek treatment
- How to communicate with your doctor
- Transportation options
- Make lifestyle choices that prevent COPD from getting worse
- Stop smoking
- Exercise to increase your strength and endurance
- Eat nutritious foods
- Avoid irritants such as dust and pollen
- sleep well
- Get vaccinated to prevent infections that make COPD worse
- Take care of yourself and defend your rights
- You may have to look further or travel further to find a pulmonologist.
- Most health insurance companies (including VA [ Departamento de asuntos de militares jubilados ] and Medicaid) must provide access to specialists within a certain distance or travel time. If not, they may make an exception to allow you to see someone outside of the insurance network (but you must request this).
- Find free or low-cost care at rural and state-certified medical centers.
Remember: you are ALWAYS eligible for emergency care.
Features
American Lung Association: My COPD Action Plan
COPD Action Alliance: Military Retirees and COPD
COPD Foundation: My COPD Action Plan
This educational resource was created with support from Chiesi, Sanofi and Regeneron.
