2019 Michigan Tech Magazine: Issue 1

Overcoming Rural Healthcare Challenges

Model flowchart.

Guy Hembroff’s model integrates partnerships and addresses gaps to overcome rural healthcare challenges.

Health Factors and Rural Health Challenges

Hembroff's model outlines four health factors that influence eight identified rural health challenges.

  1. Health Behaviors
    1. Diet and Exercise
    2. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Use
    3. Healthy Food Security
  2. Physical Environments
    1. Isolation
    2. Access to Quality Care
  3. Clinical Care
    1. Access to Quality Care
  4. Social and Economic Factors
    1. Employment Opportunities
    2. Education
    3. Income

Personal Health Library Initiative

Hembroff’s system names five personal health library initiatives to put patients in control of their own health records, and give patients the power to determine what information they wish to share.

  1. API-Integrated Health Data for Users
  2. Social Determinants of Health
  3. AI on Digital Health Data
  4. Customized Health Education
  5. Community Health Resources

Each initiative relates to four outcomes that help identify user and community needs.

  1. Virtual Health Societies
  2. Community-Based Participatory Research
  3. Enhanced Health Literacy and Empowerment
  4. Increased Community and Personalized Engagement

Improved Health Outcomes

Hembroff's approach ensures doctors have all of the information they need to treat a patient and empowers communities to improve health outcomes by integrating information into community health and safety planning. This provides improved health outcomes for everyone involved.