Grant proposal to fund a nurse practitioner practice in a rural setting

During America's history as a nation, the composition of the population has changed from one that was almost totally rural to one that is now predominantly urban. The United States Census Bureau (1990) estimates that 95% of the population in 1790 was rural; today only 25% live in rural areas. In recent years, the size of the rural population has not
declined overall, but is growing more slowly than the suburban population.

The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA, 1991) found that, in general, rural residents tend to be white, native-born, and living in a family headed by a married couple. Rural residents are less likely than urban residents to be employed and to have completed high school. Rural residents have lower incomes than their urban counterparts. Nearly one in four rural citizens lives in poverty, but this rate approaches one out of every two for black families living in rural areas. The 1991 OTA study also showed most rural employment stems from agriculture. This same study found there is a recent trend of locating small manufacturing facilities and other types of light industry in rural areas to take advantage of nonunion environments. However, these companies do not pay much over minimum wage, and benefits such as health insurance are often nonexistent.