AUTHOR=Towne Samuel D. , Smith Matthew Lee , Ahn SangNam , Ory Marcia G. TITLE=The Reach of Chronic-Disease Self-Management Education Programs to Rural Populations JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health VOLUME=2 YEAR=2015 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2014.00172 DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2014.00172 ISSN=2296-2565 ABSTRACT=
This study assessed the sociodemographic characteristics of rural residents who participated in chronic-disease self-management education (CDSME) program workshops and the extent to which CDSME programs were utilized by those with limited access to health care services. We analyzed data from the first 100,000 adults who attended CDSME program workshops during a national dissemination spanning 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Approximately 24% of participants lived in rural areas. Overall, 42% of all participants were minorities; urban areas reached more minority participants (48%) than rural areas (25%). The average age of participants was high in rural (age, μ = 66.1) and urban (age, μ = 67.3) areas. In addition, the average number of chronic conditions was higher (