Due to the interdependent nature of farming families and the labour that each person provides, an unexpected death could have negative and lasting ramifications. The 1936 “Annual Report of the Department of Public Health, Province of Alberta” reported that there is less preventative healthcare available to residents of rural areas of the province, and as a result the death rate in these areas are higher, particularly for young infants and children.

This report says “We would again direct attention to the higher death rates among children residing in the towns, villages and rural districts of the Province than among those residing in the larger cities. In 1936 the average infantile mortality rate for rural districts (including smaller urban centres) is 67 and for the 7 cities of the Province 45. This means that the infantile mortality rate for the rural districts is 50% higher than that for the 7 cities.” The report goes on to say “The Department would again direct attention to the urgent need of making available to the residents of our rural districts and smaller urban centres the full-time preventive health service enjoyed by the residents of cities in which modern health services are provided.”

Living in rural areas came with risks, including less access to healthcare services. When farming accidents occurred, or illness came, there was less help readily available in these rural areas than there would have been in urban centres.