NEWS RELEASE
May 22, 1998
Rural Alabamians' Views Previewed at National Agromedicine Conference
Interviews with rural Alabama residents and workers, which have been conducted to gather opinions on what rural physicians should know, were excerpted in a poster presentation at the North American Agromedicine Association's national conference in May.
The poster was created by Melissa Hutchens, the researcher who conducted the interviews. Hutchens, who has a master's degree in rural sociology, visited with dozens of community leaders, health officials, rural physicians, workers, farmers and residents in counties across Alabama to compile an overview of what is important to residents and workers in rural Alabama. Her interviews are the initial phase of a project to determine what occupational and environmental factors family physicians in rural Alabama should know about so they can most effectively care for their patients. The next phase of the NIEHS-funded project will include surveys of key audiences involved in rural services and rural health to further identify and rank important issues. The information will contribute to the development of a rural environmental and occupational medicine curriculum that can be incorporated into medical training for family physicians who plan to practice in rural areas.