The image rural people like to hold of country life is that fresh air and exercise make it a healthy place to live. The sad reality of statistics gathered by the Canadian Community Health Survey by Statistics Canada in 2005, show Huron and Perth counties near the top or leading in categories such as heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.

Dr. Beverly Leipert, the Chair in Rural Women’s Health Research the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry are pleased to invite undergraduate, graduate students, faculty and community members to the Rural Health Brown Bag Lunch Series.

Date: Thursday October 30 , 2008 from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Location: London Health Sciences Centre, University Hospital, Auditorium B

Speakers: C. Munoz, MD, PhD; G. Deveraux, RN; & W. K. Milne, MD, CCFP-EM

Rural Ontario has the second highest death rates from cardiac causes
in Canada, only after east coast provinces. The Huron-Perth-Grey-Bruce
region has one of the highest cardiac death rates (15.2) within rural
Ontario. Moreover, the prevalence of diabetes in the Grey-Bruce area
is double (8.0%) that of the Middlesex-London (4.1%), a neighbouring
urban area

This is just one part of the startling picture drawn by statistics
tracking the health status of Canadian rural residents. Heart disease,

National surveys indicate that the prevalence of important conditions such as heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, and depression are more common in rural populations than in the urban sector. Yet, most clinical research takes place in academic institutions located in large urban areas using subjects close to those centres.

National surveys have demonstrated consistently over the years that the health status of Canadian rural residents is worse than that of their urban counterparts. For example, the frequency of common conditions such as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, depression, and some forms of cancers, is higher in rural communities than in large urban centres. Despite this reality, clinical research dedicated to rural health issues is insufficient.