Remoteness and issues in mental health care: experience from rural Australia

Improving access to and outcomes from mental health care in rural Australia

“…isolation, drought, fire and flood) known to precipitate mental health problems 4 and make less use of GPs and specialist mental health services than their urban counterparts, 5 despite similar prevalence of mental illness. 6,7 This might be due to a lack of rural providers, 8 fear of stigma, 9 rural stoicism, 9 and travel and financial barriers. 10 In an effort to improve access to mental health care and, therefore, outcomes for consumers, 108 projects have been funded nationally under the Access to Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS) component of the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care (BOiMHC) program.…”

Harnessing the Bohemian

“…Limited entertainment, employment and further education opportunities exacerbate the likelihood, even inevitability, of young people leaving the area. Evidence also suggests that people living in inland rural and remote areas are overburdened and challenged by higher rates of injury, diabetes, coronary heart disease, alcohol and tobacco consumption, and suicide (Bourke, 2003;Rajkumar & Hoolahan, 2004). Such social and economic difficulties lead to an erosion of confidence and the sense of community that has traditionally existed in and sustained many rural and remote areas.…”

Evaluation of an alcohol intervention training program for nurses in rural Australia

“…While these problems may not be the immediate concern of nurses because other health professionals are available to address them in some situations, the nurse may need to play a generic health services role. This is particularly likely to be the case in rural and remote areas, where other health and specialised services are 'thin on the ground' (Rajkumar and Hoolahan, 2004). Rural and regional Australia is one such location, and Humphrey (1998) describes Australian rural environments as characterised by: 'distance, uncontrolled environments, specific occupational hazards, sparse infrastructure, and risk-taking attitudes to health, illness and behaviour'.…”