In Arizona’s rural areas, there is a lack of health care information, services, and accessibility
specifically designed to reach women, who are the key conduits for health care and wellness
within their families. As a result there are health disparities among rural women themselves and
their associated family members. Arizona is the nation’s sixth largest state in terms of land area, with rural residents widely
dispersed in many small communities. The Rural Assistance Center has reported that women in
rural areas face higher rates of chronic diseases and a greater risk of death from diabetes than
their male counterparts, and encounter greater barriers to health care access as a result of poverty, lack of or under-insurance, lack of public transit, geographic isolation, and reduced access to health care providers (Rural Assistance Center, 2005). In rural Arizona, these circumstances are made more complex by the state’s diverse mix of cultures, languages and health literacy levels. The Arizona Rural Health Women’s Network (AzRWHN) was established to find solutions to
address these issues. AzRWHN is a collaborative partnership of four of Arizona’s Area Health
Education Centers in conjunction with other key state and nonprofit organizations involved in
rural and/or women’s health. The Network’s mission is to build our network partners’ capacity to cultivate and promote innovative policies and practices that improve the health of women in rural Arizona. Our vision is that women in rural Arizona will experience optimal health and wellness.Through three strategic directions the Network intends to achieve the following goals: 1) Develop, grow and sustain the AzRWHN 2) Strengthen the capacity of AzRWHN Members to improve health information and services for women in rural Arizona and 3) Raise awareness of Arizona rural women’s health concerns among health service providers, policy makers and leaders. The Network strives to build on and leverage the efforts successfully launched through a 2007 RHND Planning Grant. Considerable data collection, regional community forums, priority-setting, information dissemination, and training — has been completed by the Network members to create a foundation for meaningful collaboration and forward progress. Therefore the AzRWHN can harness the collective power of diverse network members to assess, coordinate, and respond to the multiple issues that shape rural women’s health in Arizona.
