What Are the Harmful Effects Caused by a Rural Environment?

Rural areas, or the countryside, are less populated areas. While there are many health advantages to living in rural areas, such as clean air, less pollution and access to fresh foods, there are also negative physical and mental effects from rural living.

Access to Healthcare

• The largest drawback to living in a rural environment is the lack of access to healthcare. Rural populations typically need to travel to receive medical attention and pharmaceuticals. The closest hospital can be hours away. In emergencies, seconds count, and a lack of immediate health responders can severely negatively impact health in those situations.

Isolation

• Isolation or cabin fever can occur in remote rural areas. This is a mental health issue that results from having little to do for long periods of time. The person can get angry, frustrated, restless, irritable and exhibit abnormal behavior. A few people have very adverse reactions, such as violence.

Contact with Animal Diseases

• Rural areas are more likely to have farms and farm animals. Certain diseases are first contracted in animals and can then be spread to humans, such as mad cow and hoof and mouth disease. People living in rural environments have more exposure to such diseases, although this is not a common issue.

Naïvite

• Some people who grow up in rural environments see the world through a limited perspective. A lack of diverse experiences, both cultural and social, can create a naive outlook on life. If a rural person travels to a populated urban center, he may find it difficult to cope with things urban dwellers take for granted, such as homelessness, crime and urban lifestyles. This can cause culture shock in the rural person.