Older rural men and women at serious health risk

The Men, Women and Ageing Study (MWA) comprises the nation’s most significant research on the health of older men and women in Australia.

Recent findings from the study raise serious concerns about rural health, as Dr Siobhan O’Dwyer from the National Seniors Productive Ageing Centre reports.

Results from the first analysis of MWA data were recently published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health and show some dramatic differences in the mortality rates of rural and urban older women.

Older rural women are 14% more likely than their urban counterparts to die prematurely. Researcher Deirdre McLaughlin said that the poorer survival of rural women might reflect their lower use of health services.

“Rural women reported significantly fewer visits to general practitioners and medical specialists than women living in cities. The potentially poorer availability and quality of health services in rural areas may also contribute,” she said.

According to Dr McLaughlin, the differences were evident across all states and territories and should ring serious alarm bells for policy makers and government.

“Older people may be ‘gray canaries’, providing an early warning to governments about declining health services,” she said.

MWA will now go on to explore the impacts of social networks, smoking, stroke, weight and trauma on the health of older men and women.