Special Interest

Study: Mobile health clinics offer alternative access to care

This article tells about a study looking into "doctors' offices on wheels", or mobile health clinics. The study states that there has been an increase in mobile health clinics over the years.

According to Mobile Health Map, an estimated 3,000 “doctors’ offices on wheels” operate across the country. That’s double what a study in the American Journal of Managed Care found in 2014. A decade ago, research estimated 1,500 mobile clinics received some 5 million visits per year while providing services to “vulnerable populations.” The Mobile Health Map grew out of those initial research forays and now shows the location of mobile health programs nationwide (Carey, 2025).

The article specifically talks about healthcare access in rural areas, explaining that even with the rise of telehealth, there are still barriers preventing communities from receiving care.

However, some places have found ways around this by utilizing paramedics as mobile healthcare.

In some rural communities, mobile clinics are being used as community paramedicine services or mobile integrated healthcare. Those mobile health programs use the local EMS system to provide ongoing care to people who may have challenges caring for themselves during an illness (Carey, 2025).

Mobile healthcare has not only improved health statistics such as lower blood pressure and fewer dental issues, but it has also impacted crime rates and educational losses:

Mobile programs also help to develop the healthcare workforce, the research found. The programs provided a culturally competent workforce pipeline that got hands-on training. But the programs also increased the workforce pipeline outside of the healthcare sector, studies showed. Areas where there were mobile health programs saw a drop in minor crime and arrests, and helped to curb the spread of infectious disease which, in turn, prevented educational losses (Carey, 2025).

Mobile health clinics are not a new invention, but they are a useful reference point for how to bring healthcare to rural communities rather than trying to create easier transportation. This article got me thinking about all the benefits better health can bring to a person's life, and how it can impact a community in more ways than initially intended.

Reference

Carey, L. (2025, October 18). Study: Mobile health clinics offer alternative access to care. North Carolina Health News. https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2025/10/18/study-mobile-health-clinics-offer-alternative-access-to-care/

Fabrix: A Sustainable Building Material.

When it comes to the issue of textile waste, the speed at which we accumulate this waste is often attributed to one tangible source: the invention of the synthetic textile. Synthetic textiles cost significantly less in materials and labor to produce. And we’ve become good at it too. The

It’s Not Your Fault: Designing the Connections Behind Sustainability.

You may not realize at first what this tabloid cover is really trying to get at. You might see the less than perfect graphic design, or perhaps the silly nature of the content itself. What do you think it responds to? In reality, this conjecture seems to be promoting some

Inflight Capabilities with Delta Airlines

There are many parallels to be drawn between the possibilities of entertainment systems in cars and airplanes. Many new advancements are being made in both industries but the push for airlines to improve their systems comes with extreme competition from other airlines and with the desire to uphold the needs

Music education and children's brain development

Music in general is an integral part to everyday life. More importantly, music being present in the everyday lives of children can have profound effects on their development as seen in this study from USC. Music instruction appears to accelerate brain development in young children, particularly in the areas of

Read more

Fabrix: A Sustainable Building Material.

It’s Not Your Fault: Designing the Connections Behind Sustainability.

Inflight Capabilities with Delta Airlines

Music education and children's brain development