Category(s):
Health
Status: Closed
Principal: Trevor Hanson
Project Number: P0036
Year Approved: 2019
Year Completed: 2022
Rural areas face unique challenges as patients need to travel longer distances and may require various modes of transportation to satisfy their healthcare needs. Increasing centralization of health care services is anticipated to result in an increase in travel demand for older adults (65+) who live in rural areas. Additionally, older patients may not be able to meet their travel needs independently, requiring them to rely on others, such as family or friends.
The impacts that individual health care needs have placed on transportation demands have not yet been researched. Volunteer Driver Programs in rural New Brunswick have been able to aid in narrowing existing travel supply gaps. However, with an aging population this might not be a sustainable solution.
