This site answers those questions. Though it is run by the government, it’s still a good source on rural health that I have happened to know.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/ric/ricpubs/what_is_rural.shtml
A serious discussion of ‘rural’ has never been seen in the universities where I worked and studied. Yet, the term ‘rural’ has been used widely and wildly. It is time to think about the concept ‘rural’ seriously.
