Rural and Remote Health is an open-access international academic journal serving rural and remote communities and publishing articles by rural health practitioners, educators, researchers and policy makers.

Cognition, physical function and life purpose constitute an important triad for functional and successful aging. The populations of many countries are aging, so increasing our understanding of experience of aging is crucial for making future public health decisions. Most studies on the experience of aging have been in urban areas but nearly half of the world’s population lives in rural areas and can have vastly different experiences from people living in urban areas. This Systematic Review describes the main characteristics and ways of aging in rural communities around the world, focusing on cognition, physical function, functionality and purpose in life.

Cognição, função física e propósito de vida constituem uma importante tríade para um envelhecimento funcional e bem-sucedido. As populações em muitos países estão envelhecendo, portanto, aumentar a compreensão da experiência de envelhecer é crucial na tomada de decisões futuras em saúde pública. A maioria dos estudos sobre a experiência de envelhecer é de áreas urbanas, entretanto, cerca de metade da população mundial vive em áreas rurais e pode ter experiências muito diferentes das populações urbanas. Esta revisão sistemática descreve as principais características e modos de envelhecer em comunidades rurais ao redor do mundo, com foco na cognição, função física, funcionalidade e propósito de vida.

La cognición, la función física y el propósito de vida constituyen una tríada importante para un envejecimiento funcional y exitoso. Las poblaciones de muchos países están envejeciendo, por lo que aumentar nuestra comprensión de la experiencia del envejecimiento es crucial para tomar futuras decisiones de salud pública. La mayoría de los estudios sobre la experiencia del envejecimiento se han realizado en áreas urbanas, pero casi la mitad de la población mundial vive en áreas rurales y puede tener experiencias muy diferentes a las de las personas que viven en áreas urbanas. Esta Revisión Sistemática describe las principales características y formas de envejecimiento en las comunidades rurales de todo el mundo, centrándose en la cognición, la función física, la funcionalidad y el propósito de vida.

This Original Research article presents results from a study exploring young people’s perceptions of how the rural setting influences their mental health. Utilising an ecosystems approach, the study explores the complex interplay of factors that impact on rural youth wellbeing, allowing for the development of nuanced and contextually appropriate approaches to improve mental health in this at-risk demographic. Understanding the influences on rural youth mental health allows for the exploration of interventions that amplify the protective aspects of rural living while mitigating the risk factors.

In recent decades, gambling has greatly expanded globally, in particular to online markets. This has been of concern due to the potential risks of gambling, such as problem or pathological gambling, as well as links to harms such as intimate partner violence, financial or career difficulties, association with mental health problems, and substance use. This Original Research article reports on differences in the prevalence, format and risk of problem gambling for people living in urban and rural areas.

The KidsFirst North program is a maternal–child health support program in rural northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The program serves both Indigenous and non-Indigenous families, and the majority of participants in the study are Indigenous. This Original Research article takes a community-based participatory research approach to investigate factors of success and barriers, from the perspectives of families, frontline workers, and administrators alike.