Northern and rural communities may have new opportunities to improve their health status following the recommendation today to establish a $1.5 billion rural and remote access fund. The recommendation is contained in the final report of the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, chaired by Roy Romanow.

The Rural and Remote Access Fund would be used to attract and retain health care providers, expand northern/rural experiences during the education of nurses and doctors, expand research and development in telehealth, and support innovative ways of delivering health services in rural/remote communities.

The focus of the chapter on rural health mirrors much of UNBC's focus on health education and research. For example, the Northern Medical Program, a new initiative to train physicians in the North, will have rural placements as a key part of the curriculum. Similarly, health research at UNBC has focused on the particular needs of northern and First Nations communities around access and innovative models of service delivery.

A finding of the report states that disparities in access to health care have contributed to higher rates of cancer, injury-related deaths, and total mortality in rural areas. People living in remote northern communities are the least healthy in Canada. The Rural and Remote Health Research Institute at UNBC is developing a more effective measure of rurality that will lead to the development of effective rural health delivery programs.

"In a variety of ways, UNBC has been addressing the health issues of rural communities. We can play a larger role with added federal funding," says Max Blouw, Vice-President of Research at UNBC. "It is absolutely essential to train health professionals who will have the desire and skills to work in rural communities. We've expanded nursing education and have developed a new northern physician program in partnership with UBC. Equally important is research that will lead to innovative methods of health care delivery, suited to the large, under-served, rural, and northern parts of Canada."

Karen Kelly
UNBC Rural and Remote Health Research Institute
Rural health care access and utilization, wait lists, health policy
250-960-6450, kellyk@unbc.ca

Don Voaklander
UNBC Rural and Remote Health Research Institute
health care access in northern areas
250-960-6352, voakland@unbc.ca

Harvey Thommasen
Chair of Community Health degree program
Rural physician retention and satisfaction, burn-out issues, rural determinants of health
250-960-5848, thommash@unbc.ca