Life in Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions of Well-Being and Acts of Care Giving

Authors

Rebecca J. Vogt, Center for Applied Rural Innovation, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Randolph L. Cantrell, Nebraska Rural Initiative, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Bruce B. Johnson, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

2010

Comments

Published in Research Report 10-3 of the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (2010) pp.0-35. Copyright © 2010 Center for Applied Rural Innovation, University of Nebraska

Abstract

Given the challenges and uncertainties of recent years, how do rural Nebraskans believe they are doing and how do they view their future? Have these views changed over the past fifteen years? How satisfied are they with various items that influence their well‐being? The aging population in nonmetropolitan Nebraska faces additional challenges to their quality of life and many rely on nearby social support systems to enable them to remain in rural areas. How many rural Nebraskans provide assistance to aging or ill relatives and neighbors? Do they live near their parents or grown children? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these questions. This report details 2,797 responses to the 2010 Nebraska Rural Poll, the fifteenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans= perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about their individual well‐being. Trends for these questions are examined by comparing data from the fourteen previous polls to this year=s results. In addition, comparisons are made among different respondent subgroups, that is, comparisons by age, occupation, region, etc.