Transcultural Nursing and Health Care Issues in Urban and Rural Contexts

The distinction between urban and rural health care has been based largely on population density, with little attention given to contextual meaning of patterns related to the lifeways of the people. When considering sociocultural factors, the differentiation becomes more complex. In this paper some of the transcultural nursing issues and challenges are discussed in relation to cultural context and health care trends in urban and rural settings. Four urban-rural health-related issues with transcultural dimensions are examined. Migration patterns, diversity among rural communities, utilization of services, and change related to intervention strategies are identified as transcultural nursing knowledge and practice in relation to urban and rural contexts.