Remote Rural Research Articles

Rendering a Comprehensive School and Community Library Service to Remote Rural Communities in South Africa by Forging Partnerships

Substantial backlogs in public and school library services in South Africa, especially in the previously disadvantaged, remote rural areas, compel library authorities to explore alternative, more cost-effective ways of library service delivery. This paper describes a South African study which investigated the variants of the school-community library model worldwide, with the aim of defining a South African prototype, which would satisfy the needs of a rural, tribal community. The paper also discusses how this prototype is currently being piloted in a rural, tribal area in the Mpumalanga province by forging partnerships with various stakeholders.

Hybrid System for Powering Moroccan Healthcare Centers in Remote Rural Areas

Rural healthcare centers offer essential preventive and curative care to rural communities. The most of these centers are located in landlocked and difficult to access areas all year long or at least during bad weather conditions periods (snowfall for example). Some of these centers include sensitive services that operate 24 h a day such as maternity facilities, which take care of women and their newborns and which require a healthcare supervised environment before and after childbirth. This paper highlights the importance of using hybrid power sources based on renewable energy for reliable, secure and economically profitable technologies. Solar photovoltaic (PV) sources become more technologically mature and more cost competitive; therefore the cost of deploying and operating solar PV farms is declining, reducing the cost of energy produced and finally the applied electricity tariffs for kWh. The combination of PV technology with other technology e.g. diesel generator could be an interesting alternative to ensure a permanently power supply 24 h a day and whatever the weather conditions can be. In this paper, the technical applicability of this concept and its potential advantages with comparison to other technologies according to efficiency, cost and environmental impact are investigated.

Integrating Community Science Research and Space-Time Mapping to Determine Depth to Groundwater in a Remote Rural Region

Integrating Community Science Research and Space-Time Mapping to Determine Depth to Groundwater in a Remote Rural Region

Chronic Kidney Disease among Diabetes and Hypertensive Patients in a Remote Rural Area of South India: A Population-based Cross-sectional Study.

Chronic Kidney Disease among Diabetes and Hypertensive Patients in a Remote Rural Area of South India: A Population-based Cross-sectional Study.

Telemedicine Leveraged by Smart Glasses To Improve Primary Healthcare Services in a Remote Rural District, Kingandu, DRC, 2019–2020

Telemedicine Leveraged by Smart Glasses To Improve Primary Healthcare Services in a Remote Rural District, Kingandu, DRC, 2019–2020

Study On Hybrid Renewable Energy System For A Remote Rural Area In India

Over the last ten years, renewable energy has seen a spectacular transformation. They undeniably now constitute thefront edge of a far-reaching global energy shift, when combined with energy efficiency. Renewable energy technologieshave seen huge scientific advancements and dramatic cost reductions in recent years, fueled by innovation, greatercompetition, and regulatory backing in an increasing number of nations. This location has an abundance of solar, wind,biomass, and hydro resources. Furthermore, the provision of different assistance programmes via government subsidiesminimises the assets and energy costs planned for the villages. The progress of urban electrification is linked to economic and environmental stages.

Technical, Economical, and Environmental Feasibility of Hybrid Renewable Electrification Systems for off-Grid Remote Rural Electrification Areas for East Azerbaijan Province, Iran

Nowadays, global warming, air pollution emissions, climate change, and fuel price growth are chronic challenges on a global scale for residential sectors. To overcome this, renewable energy systems would certainly be a potential alternative. Expanding electricity to remote rural areas with no access to grid electricity is a significant concern in the Middle East countries such as northern west of Iran. Off-grid hybrid renewable energy systems (RES) can be an ideal solution for remote rural areas no access is available to grid electricity. This research investigates the application of wind turbine, PV panels, and diesel generator in a hybrid renewable energy system for six off-grid remote villages, with separate locations and various climate statues, for East Azerbaijan province, Iran. Hybrid renewable energy system applies optimal size of several environmentally-friendly sources via HOMER software. In this study, for offering suitable configuration, all possible configurations of the renewable energy system were formulated for each village. These communities were chosen based upon Iran’s Sixth Five-Year Economic and Renewable Energy Development Plan (2017–22). Wind speed and solar radiation data were extracted from Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy Dataset of NASA. For achieving accurate data on wind speed and solar radiation, as well as population for each community, they were extracted from Iran’s Atlas and National Department of Statistics respectively. In order to explore the most cost-effective and efficient design for each community, various models of wind turbine, PV panels, and diesel generator were designed and optimized. In this study, most important economic indicators including initial capital ($), operating cost ($/yr), total NPC ($), and cost of energy ($/kwh) were taken into account. For conducting economic and environmental sustainability, HOMER software was applied. For economic modelling and geographical position, Visio and Arc GIs software were used respectively.

Collaborative Action and Social Organization in Remote Rural Regions: Autonomous Irrigation Arrangements in the Pamirs of Tajikistan

This paper proposes a bottom–up “nexus medium” perspective to examine and understand social organization and how socio-ecological challenges in remote rural regions are dealt with in communities that receive only limited external support. While “nexus mediums” constitute substances, matter, or objects that combine manifold vital meanings and can be seen as socially constructed and materialized arenas of social interaction, autonomous resource management is seen as a means of local social organization. Taking water as the nexus medium of choice allows us to generate locally informed insights about the role of this scarce resource for the everyday life and social organization of communities inhabiting arid rural areas. This reasoning will be exemplified by three local case studies conducted during empirical research in the Pamirs of Tajikistan utilizing a mix of qualitative methods. The findings reveal how many fundamental everyday-life-related aspects and activities of the studied communities are related to water, and how these communities are organized around common water use and management arrangements that are based on joint decision-making, shared benefits and responsibilities, and collaborative action. The “nexus medium” concept appears to be an appropriate approach for research that seeks to understand from a local perspective how communal living is organized and how socio-ecological challenges are addressed.

Optimal Design of a Hybrid PV Solar/Micro-Hydro/Diesel/Battery Energy System for a Remote Rural Village under Tropical Climate Conditions

Recently, off-grid renewable power generation systems have become good alternatives for providing reliable electricity at a low cost in remote areas. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, more than half the population of Nigerian rural communities are outside the electricity coverage area. This research examines the potential application of hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV)/hydro/diesel/battery systems to provide off-grid electrification to a typical Nigerian rural village. The performance of four different hybrid systems was evaluated via techno-economic and environmental analysis, and the optimized solution was selected using the HOMER analysis tool. The simulation results revealed that a hybrid PV solar/hydro/diesel with battery storage was the optimized solution and most suitable with the least net present cost (NPC) of $963,431 and a cost of energy (COE) of $0.112/kWh. The results also revealed that the optimal system prevented about 77.1% of CO2 gas emission from being released to the surrounding air as compared with the PV/diesel system (worst case). In addition, the results also showed better performance in technical aspects, making the system appropriate and ideal for rural electrification and clean energy development. Furthermore, the effects of varying some variables such as interest rate, solar radiation, water discharge, capacity shortage, and battery minimum state of charge on the system cost and operational performance were discussed via the sensitivity analysis because these parameters influence the economy and technical aspect of the power system.

Plan, recruit, retain: a framework for local healthcare organizations to achieve a stable remote rural workforce

BackgroundRecruiting and retaining a skilled health workforce is a common challenge for remote and rural communities worldwide, negatively impacting access to services, and in turn peoples’ health. The research literature highlights different factors facilitating or hindering recruitment and retention of healthcare workers to remote and rural areas; however, there are few practical tools to guide local healthcare organizations in their recruitment and retention struggles.The purpose of this paper is to describe the development process, the contents, and the suggested use of The Framework for Remote Rural Workforce Stability. The Framework is a strategy designed for rural and remote healthcare organizations to ensure the recruitment and retention of vital healthcare personnel.MethodThe Framework is the result of a 7-year, five-country (Sweden, Norway, Canada, Iceland, and Scotland) international collaboration combining literature reviews, practical experience, and national case studies in two different projects.ResultThe Framework consists of nine key strategic elements, grouped into three main tasks (plan, recruit, retain). Plan: activities to ensure that the population’s needs are periodically assessed, that the right service model is in place, and that the right recruits are targeted. Recruit: activities to ensure that the right recruits and their families have the information and support needed to relocate and integrate in the local community. Retain: activities to support team cohesion, train current and future professionals for rural and remote health careers, and assure the attractiveness of these careers.Five conditions for success are recognition of unique issues; targeted investment; a regular cycle of activities involving key agencies; monitoring, evaluating, and adjusting; and active community participation.ConclusionThe Framework can be implemented in any local context as a holistic, integrated set of interventions. It is also possible to implement selected components among the nine strategic elements in order to gain recruitment and/or retention improvements.

Remote Sensing Data Based Rainwater Harvesting Approach for Remote Rural Areas - A Case Study, Blue Nile Area, Sudan

The method of water harvesting is very crucial to the collection of the volume of water required for sustainable water supply. Most physical water scarcity remote rural areas worldwide are characterized by a reasonable amount of rainfall. These areas lack the suitable Surface Rainwater Harvesting System (SRHS) to collect the required water volume. To address this problem a remote sensing data based Surface Rainwater Harvesting Approach (SRHA) was proposed. The proposed approach was tested on existing surface rainwater harvesting systems (SRHS) in residential and agricultural areas inside the study area. The study area is bounded by latitudes 11°-12° N and longitudes 33°-34° E, with an approximate area of 11,000 km2. The SRTM90 DEM data of the study area was processed using QGIS application program hydrological modules. The hydrological model of the area was created, the catchment areas were derived and draining capacities for the specific test sites were calculated. The results revealed that the remote sensing data based approach is capable of locating sites with draining capacities 82 and 8 times those of the traditional systems in the residential and agricultural areas respectively. These results demonstrated that the proposed approach can facilitate locating optimum surface rainwater harvesting sites that would provide sustainable water supply and mitigate physical water scarcity problem in remote rural areas.

Optimal Design and Techno-economic Analysis of Off-grid Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Remote Rural Electrification: A Case Study of Southwest China

Demand for electricity in remote areas is a key bottleneck for development of these areas. Challenges of grid extension to remote areas have been identified, such as difficult terrain for construction and vast investment. Fast development of decentralized renewable energy production technologies provides opportunity for tackling the challenges. The study aims to demonstrate the techno-economic feasibility of off-grid hybrid renewable energy system for sustainable remote rural electrification via a case study of a village in Southwest China. In order to determine the most cost competitive configuration whilst ensuring a reliable power supply for residential, community and agricultural demand of the village, different combinations of PV panels, wind turbine and biogas generator are modelled and optimized in HOMER. Daily and seasonal characteristics of energy supply and demand sizes and patterns of remote rural areas are considered. Comparison of grid extension and an off-grid hybrid power system has been carried out. Results show that a hybrid power system comprising solar, wind and biomass is a reliable and cost-effective option for remote rural electrification whilst achieving environmental benefits.

Oral Health Status of Schoolchildren Living in Remote Rural Andean Communities: A Cross-Sectional Study.

ABSTRACTObjective:Oral health promotion (OHP) was introduced in Peruvian primary schools in 2013, and no evaluation has been undertaken in rural areas since then. To measure OHP outcomes, this cross-sectional study aimed to assess the oral health (OH) status of schoolchildren living in a remote rural area of the Cusco region.Materials and methods:Sixty-six children were recruited in three remote rural communities and in a rural district capital. Six dimensions of OH (knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, dental plaque, dental caries, and quality of life related to OH) were measured using self-administered questionnaires and dental examinations. Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney tests were conducted to compare outcomes between two types of settings (remote rural community and district capital). Multiple linear regression models were fit to identify which variables can explain the variance observed in the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index.Results:The median percentage of dental plaque in remote rural communities was 78.7+ (interquartile range [IQR] 71.5–82.8) and 78.6+ (IQR 72.7–82.2) in the district capital (P = 0.90). The prevalence of dental caries was estimated to be 94.1+ (95+ confidence interval [CI] 71.1–>99.9) in the district capital and 98.0+ (95+ CI 88.3–>99.9) in remote rural communities (P = 0.43).Conclusion:These results suggested that OHP interventions had not reached their full potential. Identifying different factors that influence the reported outcomes would provide a more comprehensive understanding and help to tailor OHP interventions.

Two-Stage Optimization Model of Agricultural Product Distribution in Remote Rural Areas

Due to the lack of systematically optimized logistics networks in many remote rural areas, the online sales of agricultural products in these areas have the disadvantages of high cost, high damage and slow speed. To address these logistic problems, this paper proposes a two-stage layout optimization model of agricultural product joint distribution centres based on the geographical features of remote rural areas. The number and location of distribution centres are selected in two stages to optimize the logistics network. Chengkou County, located in Chongqing city, China, has been selected as the study area. In the first stage, AP clustering is carried out using the distance between the logistics nodes of villages and towns, and the transit station of the source of agricultural products is obtained using the correlation between the nodes, which are regarded as alternative locations for the second-level logistics nodes. In the second stage, a joint distribution centre optimization model with the lowest cost is constructed. A fruit fly optimization algorithm is used to select the optimal locations from the alternative locations as the second-level logistics nodes and obtain the specific delivery path. Optimizing the logistics network of remote rural areas can reduce the logistics costs of agricultural products in these areas, promote online sales of agricultural products, and provide the government and logistics companies with theoretical references to open up new markets in remote areas.

Community and Family Medicine via Doctors without Distance: Using a Simple Glucose Control Card to Assist T2D Patients in Remote Rural Areas (GH-Method: Math -Physical Medicine)

Community and Family Medicine via Doctors without Distance: Using a Simple Glucose Control Card to Assist T2D Patients in Remote Rural Areas (GH-Method: Math -Physical Medicine)

Home Care Support for Patients with Intractable Neural Diseases at a Clinic in a Remote Rural Area

目的：筋萎縮性側索硬化症（以下，ALS）は数ある神経難病の中でも最も社会的支援を必要とする疾患である．医療過疎地域でALSと診断された患者の在宅療養を支援したので報告する．

Trust and Technology Repair Infrastructures in the Remote Rural Philippines

This paper analyzes the processes and challenges of technology repair in remote, low-income areas far from standard ICT repair infrastructure. Our sites of study are the fishing and farming villages of Dibut, Diotorin, and Dikapinisan in Aurora Province, Philippines, located in coastal coves against a mountain range. Residents are geographically isolated from urban areas, with the nearest peri-urban center of Baler a boat trip of several hours away, infeasible in some sea conditions. Unlike prior work in more connected rural areas, there are no local repair shops and device repair is uncommon, despite frequent breakage due to harsh conditions for electronics. The scarcity of local electronics repair limits technology access and leads to accumulation of e-waste. While prior work demonstrates that local electronics repair capability does arise in many rural areas around the world, we must also acknowledge that the successful emergence of this infrastructure depends on the intersection of many structural conditions and cannot be taken for granted. We present the material hardships of achieving local repair in terms of seams between heterogeneous urban and rural infrastructures, which illustrate the cove communities' marginality with respect to many forms of public infrastructure. However, intermittent and informal repair infrastructures based on trust relationships emerge to patch these seams in remote settings. We show how trust affects the way people dynamically construct repair infrastructure and why, based on their remoteness and the resulting value propositions of repair. Networks of trust between repairers, their clients, suppliers, fellow repairers, and certifying or training institutions crucially facilitate the movement of resources and expertise across the Philippines, but also reinforce the marginality of residents and repairers in the coves. Despite these structural challenges, local people are able to maintain a robust ecosystem for rural electrical line repair, from which we generalize the model of training grounds as a strategy for sustaining local communities of repair experts.

Optimal Design of Standalone Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems with Biochar Production in Remote Rural Areas: A Case Study

Abstract For remote agriculture-based rural areas, utilizing the local renewable resources such as biomass, wind, and solar energy could be potentially more efficient than long-distance transmission of electricity. In this paper, a multi-objective optimization model for the design of standalone hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) in remote rural areas is proposed. The objective is to maximize the profits and the carbon abatement capability of the system by optimal process selection and sizing of HRES components including solar, wind, and biomass generation systems. A case study for the design of an HRES on the Carabao Island in the Philippines is conducted. The result shows a 122 kW solar power plant, a 67 kW onshore wind farm and a 223 kW biomass pyrolysis system constitute the optimal configuration of the hybrid energy system, generating a daily profit of US$ 940. The greenhouse gas emission of the optimal system is -3,339 kg CO2 eq/day, indicating good carbon sequestration performance.

Estimating Maternal Mortality in Remote Rural Regions: an Application of the Sisterhood Method in Tajikistan.

IntroductionThe sisterhood method of maternal mortality data collection and analysis provides a validated framework for estimating maternal mortality ratios in situations of limited infrastructure. The aim of this study is to assess sub-national maternal mortality in the Badakhshan region of Tajikistan using the sisterhood method as part of a larger ethnographic study on maternal risk.MethodsIn 2006–2007, 1004 married women of reproductive age in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, Tajikistan were surveyed using the sisterhood method. Respondents were asked eleven questions about the sex, age and survivorship of all children born to the respondent’s mother.ResultsUsing a national total fertility rate (TFR) estimate of 4.88, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in Tajik Badakhshan was 141 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births (95% CI 49–235). The lifetime risk of maternal death was 1 in 141 (95% CI 34–103).ConclusionGiven the inherent time-lag of the sisterhood method, precise estimates of maternal mortality are dependent on accurate TFRs, which may vary based upon regional experiences of demographic transitions. Socio-political instability and the dismantling of Soviet welfare programs and civil war following Tajikistan’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 likely impacted TFR in Tajik Badakhshan. Socio-political trends influencing TFR in rural regions compared to urban, and the investigation of factors associated with maternal mortality, require additional investigation.

Perceptions of Teachers and Parents on the Educational Experiences of Students with Autism in a Remote Rural Community

While there is a steady increase in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), relatively little is known about the unique experiences of students with ASD in rural communities. This study investigates how the rural context influences the educational experiences of students with ASD. The researchers used an online questionnaire and in-person interviews of special education teachers, general education teachers, and parents to collect their perceptions of the unique experiences for students with ASD living in a remote rural community of Appalachia. Data generation and analysis led to the discussion of three salient themes: limited parental knowledge, lack of resources and need for professional development, and low socioeconomic status and family or community structures. The authors discuss how these findings manifest in rural communities and make suggestions for further research and professional development.