Is the rural idyll bad for your health? Stigma and exclusion in the English countryside

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to challenge assumptions that life in the English countryside is a healthy existence. This paper proposes that public health practitioners should consider the problems of stigma and social exclusion sometimes faced by individuals in rural areas. Using ethnographic research from a village in South East England the experiences of several individuals are examined to illustrate how stigma impacts on the health and well-being of those supposedly living in the rural idyll. It also argues for more ethnographic research to be conducted in health studies, particularly in rural areas, to gain deeper insight into health experiences.