Rural Resource Management: Economic and Health Care Community Public Awareness
Given that Texas has the largest rural population in the nation with 3.6 million residents, less than 50 percent of the total population is not aware of the different resource and development strategies that the government is said to be doing in terms on the economic and health needs of the community. The purpose of this research is to discuss the economic and social issues that concern the government and the community which can give an impact in the community in Texas. Recent surveys will be discussed, showing how the people felt that the government has not done enough in terms of economic development and providing health care for the communities. With that, it can be seen that the residents of different rural communities face different struggles and challenges compared to their urban counterparts.
According to a recent study, of the 3.6 million residents in Texas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service said that 19.5 percent were below poverty line making it 3 percentage points higher than the number in urban Texas. It was also said that the unemployment and educational attainment levels were worse in these communities in Texas compared to the communities in urban Texas (Lopez, 2011). Aside from having a variety of economic problems in the communities, there are also issues about health care among its residents and because of that, it has made a huge impact on the growth of these areas. It was reported that people coming from these Texas communities have generally lower incomes compared to their urban counterparts. It is also in this area that people usually suffer higher unemployment rates (Johnson, 2001).
Many people in these areas do not seem to feel the different government programs that are supposed to give the needs of the community. In 2012, the Center for Rural Studies at Sam Houston State University led a survey of the residents of 22 different communities in Texas to learn what the government and the other organizations could do in order to improve on the different community amenities. The results also aim to create resource management and economic development strategies in order to help the community (Fortunato, Theodori, Hudec, and Beach, 2013, pg. 1).
During the 77th Legislative session, the different problems of the communities dominated the discussion. The committee took note that in order to create an effective community development policy; it has to revolve around in terms of agriculture and other resources of the community. Aside from that, policies must encompass education, environment and health care alongside economic development with the building of infrastructure and communication policies. With that, the committee believed that in order to solve the different economic and social problems of these communities, a broad and comprehensive strategy must be formulated. State and federal programs, led by the government must also focus on agriculture, health care and the economic development of the communities (Johnson, 2001).
In the results of the survey done by the Center for Rural Studies, it was revealed that less than half of the total population of the 22 these communities is aware of the different economic strategies that the government is providing them. The residents do not particularly feel that the government is doing something about infrastructures and technologies like providing high speed internet. The residents are also not aware of the strategies that involve tourism and even continuing education programs for the community. When the respondents were asked what strategies they think would have a greater impact in their community, most of them think that improving the internet connection and promoting proper education will provide a positive effect in their current situation (Fortunato, Theodori, Hudec, and Beach, 2013, pg. 6).
Rural communities in Texas also have a major problem in terms of access to proper health care and health care aid. It was reported that over 63 counties in Texas have no hospital and 27 of these have no primary care physicians. With that, it cannot be denied that with the 177 communities in Texas, all of them are medically underserved. Many believed that the reason for this is the economic status of the residents of these communities. Many doctors may think that these communities are not profitable for health care providers like physicians and hospitals are struggling to operate the business in isolated communities. Aside from that, recruitment is also a problem for the government for not all health care providers can leave the comforts of the city to do charity jobs in the these areas (Ramshaw, 2010).
In another survey done by the Center for Rural Studies, it was revealed that at most 22 percent of the respondents do not have health care insurance and about 77 percent of the respondents said that they do not have access to any health care. The most common reason for this is because of the health care cost. Since many of these respondents live in low income areas, there is a huge chance that the residents in the community cannot afford to seek medical help. Another reason the respondents gave was the lack of medical doctors around the area or the long distance they need to travel just to seek the help of one (Choi, Reiter, Hudec, Theodori, and Beach, 2013, pg. 4).
During the 83rd Texas Legislative session, the Lubbock's state representatives said that the problems in Texas areas also involve water security, transportation, and also the local control (Young, 2013). Different leaders believe that they should work together in order to save the communities in the state and find a way to maintain the resources to keep the residents in control. They are now looking into creating infrastructure projects which in turn will create jobs for the residents of these communities. The different leaders are now looking into different ways to create more jobs and at the same time provide resources and infrastructure for the people of these communities.
Given the result of the survey, despite government efforts, many of the residents of the rural communities in Texas feel that the leadership cannot provide programs which can help increase the economy of the community. With that, there are a couple of problems and issues one can observe from these figures. First is that there are economic and leadership development challenges that are present currently in the government of Texas. With the lack of energetic and knowledgeable leaders, the government programs are not effectively conducted most especially in the communities. Aside from that, without proper education, the residents of these communities lack the adequate skills and knowledge to be successful in any given job opportunity.
The communities and the government cannot determine how to use or create resources in order to sustain the residents of the different counties in Texas. Focusing on providing the residents amenities like education and health care can lead to strengthening the workforce, which is much needed for economic growth. Education and health care available for a reasonable cost are also some of the problems for the residents, so the government must look into programs that will provide vocational training to increase the knowledge and skills of the residents. With the proper workforce, many people would see this as a business opportunity and this will eventually help in the economic status of the communities. When these are given to the residents of these communities, the government can now manage the people are resources in order to attain economic growth and everything like health care and agriculture will sure to follow.
Works Cited
Choi, Jin Young, Miranda Reiter, Cheryl L. Hudec, Gene L. Theodori, and Sarah S. Beach. The 2013 Texas Rural Survey: Medical and Healthcare Report. Sam Houston University: Center For Rural Studies: Research and Outreach, 2013. Print.
Fortunato, Michael W., Gene L. Theodori, Cheryl L. Hudec, and Sarah S. Beach. The 2013 Texas Rural Survey: Economic Development Strategies and Efforts. Sam Houston State University: Center For Rural Studies: Research and Outreach, 2013. Print.
Johnson, John. Rural and Agricultural Issues Dominate 77th Texas Legislative Session. Lubbock, Texas: Commentator: Plains Cotton Cooperative Association, 2001. Print.
Lopez, Ray. "Building Wealth in Rural America." Daily Yonder. N.p., 19 Apr. 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2016. <http://www.dailyyonder.com/building-wealth-rural-america/2011/04/19/3282/>.
Ramshaw, Emily. "Health Care Sparse in Rural Texas." The Texas Tribune. N.p., 4 Jan. 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2016. <https://www.texastribune.org/2010/01/04/health-care-sparse-in-rural-texas/>.
Young, A. D. (2013). John Frullo, Charles Perry discuss legislative session, challenges facing rural communities. Lubbock Avalanche Journal. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.angelina.edu/ehost/detail/detail?sid=360e199d-d6c1-4429-9b35-c25911f8e1e0%40sessionmgr4005&vid=0&hid=4214&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=2W63752322122&db=nfh
