Rural Health and Zumberak
Traveling up the narrow roads to the village of Mrzlo Polje, it feels as if you are traveling back to a far simpler place and time. The quiet life of this sparsely populated mountain village in the Zumberak region of Croatia is a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the vibrant city of Zagreb. You will not find a single must see statue or remains of any castle like other mountain regions of Croatia and yet there is still something so pure and captivating about Mrzlo Polje.
Traveling through Mrzlo Polje the term rural health takes on a new meaning. When I think of rural health several smaller Georgia towns come to mind, but these pale in comparison to many villages in the Zumberak region. Mrzlo Polje currently has a population of 48 people with the average age being 58 years. Beyond merely being a very small village, perhaps more importantly to public health, Mrzlo Polje is an incredibly isolated village. Upon touring this village, it becomes clear that there are no gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, doctors’ offices, hospitals, pharmacies, or any other store within eye shot from any part of the mountain. In fact, the nearest doctor is located in a bigger town approximately 30 minutes away. Ok, so 30 minutes is not that far away but traveling these steep and narrow mountain roads it feels like death is lurking around each twist and turn. While successfully navigating these roads in the beauty of late spring seems like a small miracle, during the heart winter it hardly seems possible. This all means that Mrzlo Polje has incredible limited access to health care, which can present significant implications for the health of populations. To complicate the public health picture even further, only one citizen has a college education and many of the rest have very limited formal education. This makes it a necessity for any public health efforts to be thoroughly planed with educational levels in constant consideration. From the perspective of the Social Cognitive Theory and determents of health, Mrzlo Polje seems like a public health nightmare. The lack of education, priority, money, and certainly access are all working together and likely resulting in negative health implications for the local population.
While the Zumberak region and Mrzlo Polje in particular may not be the typical city, they are useful case study and provide examples of the special health needs and characteristics of rural communities throughout the world. Rural health is an important public health focus in Croatia where a great deal of the land is considered rural. Ensuring the health of rural populations is not just important for the individuals in these communities, it is important for the health system of Croatia or any country with rural populations. This is because currently we know that rural areas are more likely to have long term chronic conditions than urban areas and treating chronic conditions is a huge drain on any medical system. Furthermore, we know that access is the number one predictor of using screening services and thus rural populations get fewer cancer screening than more urban populations. Between the lack of access and aging demographics of Mrzlo Polje and other rural communities in Croatia, the rates of chronic disease and associated medical costs are likely a growing burden. It seems that in a country with a social medicine system financed through the government such as Croatia, reducing health care costs would be a key concern. Yet it seems that these communities are often left out of the public health picture with little more than one visit from a physician every other week as the main health care infrastructure. There is no doubt that lack of access to health care resources is causing increased rates of chronic conditions among the vast rural populations and thus increasing health care costs.
One possible resource for Mrzlo Polje and other rural communities in the future is the possible satellite location for the University of Georgia in this region. The vision for this project would use the existing but no longer used school buildings for this community and turning them into a research and outreach center in the Balkan region. While this project is still in the developmental phase, it is envisioned that researchers in fields such as public health, agriculture, veterinary medicine among others could conduct research in their fields while also providing information and resources to the local community. While this will be a very worth while project careful consideration should be given in order to not disrupt the unique character of this region. This partnership could perhaps bring more resources to the community and help to provide better access to health care in the Zumberak region. Beyond being a great picture stop, Mrzlo Polje has highlighted the significant work that needs to be done in public health to ensure that health care needs are being properly met in communities of all sizes and locations across the globe.
Ben
Traveling up the narrow roads to the village of Mrzlo Polje, it feels as if you are traveling back to a far simpler place and time. The quiet life of this sparsely populated mountain village in the Zumberak region of Croatia is a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the vibrant city of Zagreb. You will not find a single must see statue or remains of any castle like other mountain regions of Croatia and yet there is still something so pure and captivating about Mrzlo Polje.
Traveling through Mrzlo Polje the term rural health takes on a new meaning. When I think of rural health several smaller Georgia towns come to mind, but these pale in comparison to many villages in the Zumberak region. Mrzlo Polje currently has a population of 48 people with the average age being 58 years. Beyond merely being a very small village, perhaps more importantly to public health, Mrzlo Polje is an incredibly isolated village. Upon touring this village, it becomes clear that there are no gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, doctors’ offices, hospitals, pharmacies, or any other store within eye shot from any part of the mountain. In fact, the nearest doctor is located in a bigger town approximately 30 minutes away. Ok, so 30 minutes is not that far away but traveling these steep and narrow mountain roads it feels like death is lurking around each twist and turn. While successfully navigating these roads in the beauty of late spring seems like a small miracle, during the heart winter it hardly seems possible. This all means that Mrzlo Polje has incredible limited access to health care, which can present significant implications for the health of populations. To complicate the public health picture even further, only one citizen has a college education and many of the rest have very limited formal education. This makes it a necessity for any public health efforts to be thoroughly planed with educational levels in constant consideration. From the perspective of the Social Cognitive Theory and determents of health, Mrzlo Polje seems like a public health nightmare. The lack of education, priority, money, and certainly access are all working together and likely resulting in negative health implications for the local population.
While the Zumberak region and Mrzlo Polje in particular may not be the typical city, they are useful case study and provide examples of the special health needs and characteristics of rural communities throughout the world. Rural health is an important public health focus in Croatia where a great deal of the land is considered rural. Ensuring the health of rural populations is not just important for the individuals in these communities, it is important for the health system of Croatia or any country with rural populations. This is because currently we know that rural areas are more likely to have long term chronic conditions than urban areas and treating chronic conditions is a huge drain on any medical system. Furthermore, we know that access is the number one predictor of using screening services and thus rural populations get fewer cancer screening than more urban populations. Between the lack of access and aging demographics of Mrzlo Polje and other rural communities in Croatia, the rates of chronic disease and associated medical costs are likely a growing burden. It seems that in a country with a social medicine system financed through the government such as Croatia, reducing health care costs would be a key concern. Yet it seems that these communities are often left out of the public health picture with little more than one visit from a physician every other week as the main health care infrastructure. There is no doubt that lack of access to health care resources is causing increased rates of chronic conditions among the vast rural populations and thus increasing health care costs.
One possible resource for Mrzlo Polje and other rural communities in the future is the possible satellite location for the University of Georgia in this region. The vision for this project would use the existing but no longer used school buildings for this community and turning them into a research and outreach center in the Balkan region. While this project is still in the developmental phase, it is envisioned that researchers in fields such as public health, agriculture, veterinary medicine among others could conduct research in their fields while also providing information and resources to the local community. While this will be a very worth while project careful consideration should be given in order to not disrupt the unique character of this region. This partnership could perhaps bring more resources to the community and help to provide better access to health care in the Zumberak region. Beyond being a great picture stop, Mrzlo Polje has highlighted the significant work that needs to be done in public health to ensure that health care needs are being properly met in communities of all sizes and locations across the globe.
Ben
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