Rural Town Research Articles

“What If He Tells Others”: Negotiating Disclosure of Children’s HIV-Positive Status Amid Stigma in a South African Rural Community

In this study, we explore how HIV-related social stigma in a South African rural township community informs parents’ and caregivers’ decisions to disclose their children’s HIV-positive status to them. To achieve the aim of the study, we conducted qualitative in-depth interviews with 12 parents and caregivers of HIV-positive children between the ages of seven and 14 years in a rural area based in Mpumalanga in South Africa. We found that, despite the development in HIV education across the country, HIV-related stigma is prevalent at a social level in rural townships and serves as a barrier to disclosing children’s HIV-positive status. We established that the parents and caregivers use “passing” as a stigma management strategy where they conceal their children’s HIV-positive status from them and instead tell them that they are infected with less stigmatised medical conditions such as asthma and tuberculosis. Based on these findings, we argue that, although education on HIV is widespread in South Africa, HIV-related stigma is still prevalent in some rural townships. This stigma compels parents and caregivers to avoid disclosing their children’s HIV-positive status to them and instead employ stigma management strategies that will maintain the concealment of their children’s HIV status.

Outcomes of a Community Cat Program Based on Sterilization of Owned, Semi-Owned and Unowned Cats in a Small Rural Town

Free-roaming cats in urban and peri-urban areas and in rural towns pose significant challenges due to their nuisance behaviors, threats to wildlife, and potential disease transmission. Traditional management methods often involve trapping and euthanizing many of these cats, which is not only costly but also distressing for the shelter staff involved, and have failed to reduce numbers of impounded cats or cat-related complaints. Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a Community Cat Program that provided free sterilization, microchipping, and preventative veterinary care for all owned, semi-owned, and unowned cats in a small rural town with high cat impoundments in Ipswich, Queensland. The program was instigated by the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation in collaboration with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Queensland and the Animal Welfare League, Queensland, and it was funded by various organizations including Fondation Brigitte Bardot. Data from 2017 to 2023 were analyzed to assess the impact of the program on cat intake and outcomes in local shelters. A total of 308 cats were sterilized, representing 94 cats per 1000 residents over 3.4 years, and in the third year, this was associated with a 60% decrease in cat intake, an 85% reduction in numbers euthanized and 39% fewer cat-related calls to the local council. These findings suggest that high-intensity, targeted sterilization programs significantly decrease shelter intake and euthanasia, and thus alleviate the psychological burden on staff. These programs are a humane and effective alternative to traditional cat management, and benefit animal welfare as well as community wellbeing. This is aligned with a One Welfare approach, which enhances the well-being of animals, humans, and their environments. Legislative changes are required to support these programs to effectively decrease the numbers of free-roaming cats in cities and towns and the issues they cause, while protecting human wellbeing.

Kenneth Jack and rural towns: Australian socialist realist art (or just a less bitter pill to swallow)?

Early Australian artists of European extraction had to wrestle with the vast, inhospitable climate of inland Australia, unfamiliar animals and plants, and harsh sunlight. To a greater or lesser extent, especially Boyd and Drysdale, they also considered the Aboriginal inhabitants and how Europeans’ grip on the land and their understanding of it always paled in comparison with theirs, leaving the Europeans the ones out of place, infringing on a complex culture. Here, I use Marxist theories of ideology and art to examine the work of Kenneth Jack, an Australian realist painter of rural towns. His reassuring images are not confrontational, unlike those of Boyd and Drysdale. They can be ideological by pointing to an apparently timeless and tranquil midday peace, free from urban stressors and manufacturing and architectural blight. As with poet Banjo Paterson, they create a discourse that raises up life in “the bush.” These images can function as ideology where rural communities and services appear to be underappreciated and under threat. It is a conservative vision as the absence of people and vehicles reminds us, perhaps paradoxically, of romanticized rural communities just out of the painter’s sight.

Seasonal changes in body composition in children from Maya agriculturalists in central Yucatán, Mexico.

Development policies have aimed to substitute subsistence agriculture for cash crops or other cash generating activities to encourage local farmers to depend on store-bought groceries available year-round instead of seasonal subsistence crops. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that increased dependence on store bought foods has decreased seasonal changes in nutritional status and fat mass in Maya Children from Yucatan, Mexico. Weight for age (W/A), body mass index (BMI), and tricipital Skinfold z scores in children under the age of 10 years from 14 Maya rural towns with different degrees of development were compared longitudinally between scarcity and abundance seasons using a repeated measures analysis of variance. Height for age (H/A) z scores were also estimated. Origin of food consumed corresponded to the town's degree of development. Nutritional status (W/Az) and adiposity, BMI, and tricipital z scores were significantly lower during the scarcity season in every community. W/Az, tricipital skinfold z, and H/Az scores were significantly higher in developed than in traditional towns, yet in both types of town W/Az and H/Az scores were below the WHO standard mean. Tricipital skinfold z score was only below the WHO standard amongst traditional towns during the scarcity season. Increased dependence on store foods failed to eliminate significant losses in body fat during the scarcity season. This failure may be affecting linear growth and promoting a thrifty phenotype that is seen in short and stocky individuals with a tendency to accumulate fat during abundance seasons.

Evaluation of the Prevalence, Antimicrobial Resistance Trait, and Virulence Determinants in Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from the Anogenital Area of 35-37 Weeks Pregnant Women

Staphylococcus aureus is a major pathogen in the postpartum period being frequently implicated as a cause of mastitis, and nursery outbreaks, among others as well as its increasing resistance to common antibiotics. This study therefore aimed at evaluating the presence of S. aureus in pregnant women attend¬ing clinics in rural towns in Eastern Cape, South Africa. A total of 82 pregnant women at 35‒37 weeks of gestation were sampled for the presence of S. aureus. Using standard microbiological methods, presump¬tive S. aureus isolates were obtained from vaginal and rectal swab samples. The isolates were confirmed by conventional polymerase chain reaction and then tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using the disc diffusion technique. Presence of resistance genes and virulence determinants were equally profiled. A to¬tal of 47 (57.3%) out of 82 pregnant women were colonized with S. aureus. Only two virulence genes PVL- 37/47 (78.7%) and eta-10/47 (21.3%) were detected in the isolates. The isolates were all resistant to penicillin G and clindamycin (100%), while resistances to tetracycline, vancomycin, rifampicin were 71% and resistance to oxacillin and erythromycin were above 80% while resistance to other antibiotics tested were below 40%. The isolates showed multiple resistance to 5-6 antimicrobials with indices ranging from 0.5-0.6. Genes encoding resistance to erythromycin (ermB), tetracycline (tetM), and rifampicin (rPOB) were found in 72.7% (34/47) of the isolates, while 15% (7/47) possessed the Bla-Z (penicillin). The high antibiotics resistance traits found in the isolates analysed indicates limited therapeutic options and portents a major threat to public health.

Local Democracy in America: How Access, Competition, and Place Shape Turnout in Mayoral Races

The vast majority of the roughly half-million elected officials in the U.S. occupy local offices, however, research examining how they get elected to remains scant. The present study examines turnout in local elections, focusing on the effects of electoral rules, the competitiveness of local races, and whether and how place matters. Based on a sample of roughly 10,000 mayoral elections, this study represents the most systematic empirical analysis of local turnout to date. While we find substantial differences in turnout across rural towns, suburbs, and central cities, these differences are largely explained by electoral and contextual factors that are unevenly distributed across the local landscape. Though election timing is far and away the most important factor, uncontested mayoral races, local elections in states with restrictive voting laws as well as those mid-sized municipalities are associated with significantly lower turnout.

The Dangers of (Masculine) Storytelling: Gender and Memory in Puig’s Sangre de amor correspondido

Drawing from the field of Cultural Memory Studies, this article examines the process of recollection as depicted in Sangre de amor correspondido (Seix Barral, 1982) by Manuel Puig (1932–1990). Within this novel, we witness the portrayal of memory processes through the eyes of Josemar, a marginalized construction worker from a small rural town in Brazil. The protagonist endeavors to narrate his life experiences through the lens of idealized hegemonic masculinity. Some scholars think that gender represents a fundamental facet of identity. Furthermore, identity emerges from introspective processes driven by memory. Consequently, this paper asserts that the integration and signifying of masculine prostheses hinge upon the articulation and solidification of a self-narrative rooted in “masculinity’s social frameworks of memory.” Through narration, hegemonic masculinity assumes a foundational role within individual identity; simultaneously, it disseminates the patterns—these social frameworks of memory—used for the interpretation and organization of life experiences as recollections.

Digitalization as a tool for Redevelopment – The Finiq case

Finiq, a rural town in the south of Albania, is experiencing a major demographic crisis. The lack of economic opportunities and difficult access to services discourage people from settling there. The various problems that characterise Finiq are mainly is isolation as it's difficult to reach it; the lack of identity due to depopulation and the lack of economic activities; the poor development and preservation of historical heritage as well as the deterioration of the landscape due to climate change and unsustainable human activities. Intervention in the landscape and cultural heritage can play a crucial role in mitigating these problems. Creating connecting paths, parks, rest areas, restoring historical buildings and monuments, together with the development of cultural programmes, could on the one hand provide Finiq residents with a sense of Identity and belonging to the area thus contributing to the promotion and preservation of the cultural heritage; on the other hand, stimulate tourism and investments which would be beneficial to the local economy. Digitalisation, in particular the use of block- chain technology, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the Internet of Things (loT) could further mitigate these issues. Blockchain can be used for the provision of a secure and trans- parent register of historical and cultural heritage, thus facilitating access to information and knowledge about this heritage by citizens and tourists. At the same time, BIM can digitally represent the various areas of the city for easier and more timely planning of interventions in the landscape, built environment and cultural heritage. Creating a Digital Twin of the city of Finiq allows the different stakeholders to collaborate and exchange detailed and up-to-date information on the city's infrastructure and heritage, thus ensuring the quality of interventions and better management of the heritage itself. loT, through sensor technology, would enable the collection of real-time data on the state of preservation of cultural heritage and the use of resources. The data collected and exchanged with and certi- fied by a blockchain platform would increase transparency and citizen participation in cultural heritage management. Furthermore, loT can provide information on weather conditions and the impact of human activities on cultural heritage, serving as a useful tool for informed, data- driven decisions towards heritage conservation and enhancement. In summary, digitisation, in particular the proposed technologies, could prevent the deterioration of cultural heritage, pro- mote its knowledge and optimise the management of resources while promoting sustainable development. The creation of digital management systems for heritage and tourism activities is envisaged. However, the use of such technologies presents some barriers including the lack of adequate technological infrastructure and the need to train people involved in the use of such tools. The redevelopment of Finiq requires a balance between using the technology and understanding its limitations while analysing the needs and concerns of the community.

The costs of transporting goods by different modes: A case study of pottery movement in late Roman Britain

There is a long-standing view that, in the Roman world, transport by sea and river was very much cheaper than by land. Previous analyses of transport costs have relied primarily on a few surviving historical records, notably the Edict on Maximum Prices issued by Diocletian in 301 CE. Here we outline an alternative method for deriving relative costs of transportation by different modes using materials recovered in archaeological excavations. We apply this to the distribution of Late Romano-British pottery (c. 250–400 CE) to calculate the cost ratios of transportation by road, river and sea to rural settlements and towns in lowland Britannia. The analysis suggests a best fit cost ratio of road to rivers and sea of 1:3:4 (i.e. transport by road was three times as costly as by river and four times that by sea), with 95% confidence interval of roads to rivers 1:1–5 and roads to sea of 1:1–9. These values are broadly consistent with transport cost ratios of 1:4:8 in England in the first half of the fourteenth century, when the country's transport network had reached a degree of integration comparable with late Roman Britain.

Ageing in place in a rural town in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Deweyan transactional perspective

Rural communities are ageing more rapidly than urban centres due to changing demographics and preference for ageing in familiar communities. Concurrently, ageing in place policies have progressively reinforced community living as the best option for most people. For ageing in place to be successful, understanding the relationship between the community environment and the functional ability of older adults is crucial. Yet, little is known about the relationship between older adults and their environment during their everyday experiences in diverse rural communities. This article reports on the findings from walking interviews with 15 older adults as they negotiated their physical environment in a rural community in New Zealand. Dewey's transactional perspective and theory of inquiry were utilised to view the everyday transactions these older adults were undertaking while being out and about doing what they value. A Deweyan perspective enabled a deep understanding of how participants negotiated and renegotiated their environment as they encountered indeterminate situations. The three main categories identified from the data: negotiating changing capabilities in a changing environment; negotiating the environment safely; and negotiating access within the environment, captured the holistic nature of the participants' everyday transactions and their continually changing relationship with their environment. The observations and discussions during the walks uncovered problem-solving and active citizenship as these older adults undertook their own ‘commonsense’ investigations of their environment. The findings highlight the valuable contribution rurally living older adults are making as active citizens during their everyday transactions. Understanding the resourcefulness these experienced older stakeholders bring to their rural communities is the first step in active collaboration at the local level. Mobile research methods are a useful means of capturing real-time experiential data in an inclusive and creative way.

P25 - A rural town embracing Midwifery Group Practice

P25 - A rural town embracing Midwifery Group Practice

Shared decision making in rural general practices: a qualitative exploration of older rural South Australians’ perceived involvement in clinical consultations with doctors

BackgroundShared decision-making (SDM) implementation is a priority for Australian health systems, including general practices but it remains complex for specific groups like older rural Australians. We initiated a qualitative study with older rural Australians to explore barriers to and facilitators of SDM in local general practices. MethodsWe conducted a patient-oriented research, partnering with older rural Australians, families, and health service providers in research design. Participants who visited general practices were purposively sampled from five small rural towns in South Australia. A semi-structured interview guide was used for interviews and reflexive thematic coding was conducted. ResultsTelephone interviews were held with 27 participants. Four themes were identified around older rural adults’ involvement in SDM: (1) Understanding of “patient involvement”; (2) Positive and negative outcomes; (3) Barriers to SDM; and (4) Facilitators to SDM. Understanding of patient involvement in SDM considerably varied among participants, with some reporting their involvement was contingent on the “opportunity to ask questions” and the “treatment choices” offered to them. Alongside the opportunity for involvement, barriers such as avoidance of cultural care and a lack of continuity of care are new findings. Challenges encountered in SDM implementation also included resource constraints and time limitations in general practices. Rural knowledge of general practitioners and technology integration in consultations were viewed as potential enablers. ConclusionAdequate resources and well-defined guidelines about the process should accompany the implementation of SDM in rural general practices of South Australia. Innovative strategies by general practitioners promoting health literacy and culturally-tailored communication approaches could increase older rural Australians’ involvement in general.

‘All my friends here are ghosts’: everyday geo-legalities in a rural poultry town

ABSTRACT In recent years, feminist legal geographers have pressed for deeper engagement with the lived experience of law’s spatial logics including methodologies that extend beyond the study of legal discourse, practice, and enforcement to include ethnographic and other qualitative approaches that centre the experiences of those living with legal precarity. Building upon the work of feminist political geographers concerned with intimacy geopolitics, the concept of everyday geo-legalities emphasizes the ways that people interpret the spatiality of law, legal practice, and state policing and how it affects their lives, livelihoods and im/mobilities. This research reveals how undocumented im/migrants in a small, rural poultry town interpret and socially negotiate their racialized legal status in terms of im/mobility, heighted workplace pressure, increased job-related health risks, persistent fears of immigration raids, family separation and deportation, and prejudice and policing due to discourses of racialized criminalization. Social and familial relations, however, are central to the everyday negotiation of these dynamics, as community connections and care emerge from experiences of marginalization. This paper thus emphasizes how social relations are central to analysing the complexities and contradictions of everyday legal geographies.

Addressing feelings of uncertainty in Montmorillon through transactional mapping

ABSTRACT This article details how we developed a dialogue with the inhabitants of a small rural town in decline using a survey methodology that combined paper and digital mapping. By choosing a participatory approach, we entered into an open-ended dialogue with a random and finally fairly diverse group of respondents. Using maps and a particularly vague questionnaire, we heard different voices speak up, and in turn, formalized the sometimes contradictory discourses in a parodical map. We chose to call this process for surveying ‘transactional mapping’.

A retrospective descriptive review of community-engaged research projects addressing rural health priorities

BackgroundMost rural populations experience significant health disadvantage. Community-engaged research can facilitate research activities towards addressing health issues of priority to local communities. Connecting scholars with community based frontline practices that are addressing local health and medical needs helps establish a robust pipeline for research that can inform gaps in health provision. Rural Health Projects (RHPs) are conducted as part of the Doctor of Medicine program at the University of Queensland. This study aims to describe the geographic coverage of RHPs, the health topic areas covered and the different types of RHP research activities conducted. It also provides meaningful insight of the health priorities for local rural communities in Queensland, Australia.MethodsThis study conducted a retrospective review of RHPs conducted between 2011 and 2021 in rural and remote Australian communities. Descriptive analyses were used to describe RHP locations by their geographical classification and disease/research categorisation using the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems – 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes and the Human Research Classification System (HRCS) categories.ResultsThere were a total of 2806 eligible RHPs conducted between 2011 and 2021, predominantly in Queensland (n = 2728, 97·2%). These were mostly conducted in small rural towns (under 5,000 population, n = 1044, 37·2%) or other rural towns up to 15,000 population (n = 842, 30·0%). Projects mostly addressed individual care needs (n = 1233, 43·9%) according to HRCS categories, or were related to factors influencing health status and contact with health services (n = 1012, 36·1%) according to ICD-10 classification.ConclusionsConducting community focused RHPs demonstrates a valuable method to address community-specific rural health priorities by engaging medical students in research projects while simultaneously enhancing their research skills.

Teacher professional identity: agentic actions of a novice teacher in a challenging school context

ABSTRACT Teachers develop their identity during initial teacher training and continue to develop it throughout their careers. Many teachers in rural schools find themselves teaching in challenging contexts. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by exploring agency as part of the development of a female teacher’s professional identity over six years as she obtains her degree and begins working in a rural town in South Africa. We used a narrative approach to listen to the participant’s stories and present narratives related to the proactive and generative actions that the participant took. By drawing on Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), we illustrate the importance of intentionality, forethought, self-reactiveness, and self-reflectiveness for agentic actions. Bandura’s ecological model highlights the importance of personal, behavioural, and environmental determinants of agency. The findings reveal that teachers experiencing similar challenging school contexts can draw on their skills, knowledge, personal values, and teaching and learning experiences to develop into teachers with a strong sense of agency who remain actively engaged in their school and the wider community. The authors propose that initial teacher educators refer to SCT as a framework during teaching practice to support the development of student teachers’ agency as part of their professional identities.

Social Participation and Loneliness in Older Adults in a Rural Australian Context: Individual and Organizational Perspectives.

A rise in aging populations globally calls attention to factors that influence the well-being and health of older adults, including social participation. In Australia, rural older adults face cultural, social, and physical challenges that place them at risk for isolation. Thus, research surrounding social participation and healthy aging is increasingly relevant, especially in rural areas. This qualitative study in a remote town in Western Australia explores barriers and facilitators to older adults' social participation. To investigate multiple perspectives, 23 adults aged 50+ and 19 organizations from a rural town were interviewed. A stakeholder reference group was engaged to refine the research design and validate the findings. Feedback from early interviews was used to refine the data collection process, thus enhancing the validity of the findings. Thematic analysis showed that health and mobility issues, inadequate infrastructure, poor sustainability, and cultural tensions commonly impacted social participation. Themes of rural town culture, cultural power dynamics, and rural stoicism were identified as cultural aspects that inhibited participation. Based on results of this study and the supporting literature, recommendations for inclusive activities include supporting community-designed programs, utilizing culturally sensitive language and personnel, expanding services using existing community resources, and diversifying older adults' roles in existing groups.

Establishing an indoor agriculture system at a rural Montana PreK‐12 school creates hands‐on experiences for college seniors studying horticulture

AbstractIn 2022, seniors studying horticulture at Montana State University (MSU; Bozeman, MT) had the opportunity to participate in a unique community‐based learning project in collaboration with the newly built PreK‐12 public school in the rural town of Winifred, MT, to establish the greenhouse infrastructure to be used in curriculum at the school. The new greenhouse facility presented an opportunity for Winifred students to not only gain experience growing vegetables, but also to provide a source of fresh vegetables for school lunches and for community members. This course presented two unique opportunities for the MSU horticulture students: (1) to experience problem‐solving horticultural challenges through designing and troubleshooting the setup of the cropping systems for the greenhouse and (2) to participate in a course with a real‐world impact on improving food security in rural areas of Montana. Over the course of the semester, the MSU students successfully established the infrastructure for the Winifred School greenhouse, which has continued to be integrated into the curriculum as well as providing fresh produce for students and community members. By the end of the course, MSU students demonstrated program learning outcomes including demonstrating the content knowledge and skills necessary to function successfully in a horticultural career and being able to identify and analyze plant growth problems and develop solutions or strategies to solve those problems.

Portable spirometer-based pulmonary function test willingness in China: A nationwide cross-sectional study from the "Happy Breathing Program".

Understanding willingness to undergo pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and the factors associated with poor uptake of PFTs is crucial for improving early detection and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study aimed to understand willingness to undergo PFTs among high-risk populations and identify any barriers that may contribute to low uptake of PFTs. We collected data from participants in the "Happy Breathing Program" in China. Participants who did not follow physicians' recommendations to undergo PFTs were invited to complete a survey regarding their willingness to undergo PFTs and their reasons for not undergoing PFTs. We estimated the proportion of participants who were willing to undergo PFTs and examined the various reasons for participants to not undergo PFTs. We conducted univariable and multivariable logistic regressions to analyze the impact of individual-level factors on willingness to undergo PFTs. A total of 8475 participants who had completed the survey on willingness to undergo PFTs were included in this study. Out of these participants, 7660 (90.4%) were willing to undergo PFTs. Among those who were willing to undergo PFTs but actually did not, the main reasons for not doing so were geographical inaccessibility ( n =3304, 43.1%) and a lack of trust in primary healthcare institutions ( n =2809, 36.7%). Among the 815 participants who were unwilling to undergo PFTs, over half ( n = 447, 54.8%) believed that they did not have health problems and would only consider PFTs when they felt unwell. In the multivariable regression, individuals who were ≤54 years old, residing in rural townships, with a secondary educational level, with medical reimbursement, still working, with occupational exposure to dust, and aware of the abbreviation "COPD" were more willing to undergo PFTs. Willingness to undergo PFTs was high among high-risk populations. Policymakers may consider implementing strategies such as providing financial incentives, promoting education, and establishing community-based programs to enhance the utilization of PFTs.

Who Owns Wildlife In Uruguay? Connections Between Game Management and Local Perspectives on Wildlife Ownership

The connection between the legal definition of wildlife ownership is fundamental in establishing clear and appropriate hunting regulations. Ambiguity in the terminology used to justify the need for regulations and their relationship to traditional knowledge may impede species management and conservation. Between 2013 and 2018 we studied the relationship between the hunting national framework in Uruguay with local practices and perceptions of hunting and wildlife ownership. Based on ethnographic work in Paso Centurión, a small rural town in north-eastern Uruguay, we describe local forms of environmental engagement, wildlife ownership, and the impact of developing a protected area. We highlight the importance of considering local attitudes and perceptions of hunting regulation, incorporating a broader discussion about the ownership of nature and the forms of human-wildlife relations in rural contexts.