Improving rural health at home and abroad: A comparison of implementation efforts in the rural NC and rural Honduras

Implementation science suggests that effective and efficient implementation of evidence-based medical practices requires clear understandings of universal core elements and also those aspects of practices that permit/require local adaptation. In rural counties in the US, as well as rural areas around the globe, health disparities persist in comparison to urban counterparts. While differences between rural areas in developing countries and in the US may be obvious, similarities may be more significant for finding efficient and sustainable solutions to rural health disparities. Public health students worked together with dentists, physician assistants, and other medical professionals to compare oral health safety net events for underserved populations in rural North Carolina and in Honduras to determine ways in which these two pediatric populations are similar. In NC, approximately 100 surveys were collected from families receiving care during a “Give Harnett Kids a Smile” event in a rural county. In Honduras, 63 surveys were collected from families receiving care as a part of a three-day dental mission trip. Preliminary comparisons of surveys from each site indicate the majority of the children in both locations did not receive preventive dental care. Additionally, comparing the two events revealed similar burdens limiting access to care (including transportation difficulties, lack of childcare, and expense of medical services and medications). Identifying homogeneity in the health care needs of rural populations, who are seemingly quite different, potentially improves the efficiency of targeted improvement in the implementation of efforts to meet the health care needs of rural communities—at home and abroad.