economics

Social Economic Barriers Against Mental Health in Rural Areas

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Social Economic Barriers Against Mental Health in Rural Areas

Introduction

Mental health is a significant concern in rural regions, affecting 6.5 million individuals from various socioeconomic backgrounds. Residents in remote regions have access to mental health practitioners who are not educated in topics that affect them and lack cultural expertise. When mental health practitioners attend school, they are mostly taught on challenges that individuals in urban/metropolitan regions face. The main source of mental health problems in rural communities has been social and economic restrictions. Government agencies must address the hurdles that are causing mental health issues to worsen in rural communities. The way people make decisions, how people connect with one another, and the way mental health treatment trends influence the public will all change.

Social Economic barriers against Mental health

Many individuals in such places go without treatment due to a shortage of providers, but these people are also hampered by other factors that restrict their access to mental health care. One important impediment is that individuals are often mentally illiterate; this may be attributed to lower education levels, increased poverty rates, and the shame associated with mental illness. "After controlling for individual risk variables, poor mental health was strongly related with area-level financial disadvantage and low social cohesiveness” (Chase, 2018). There is also a shortage of physicians wanting to work in rural locations, and those who do wish to work there lack the necessary training for clinical encounters. Residents in remote regions also lack transportation and must drive a considerable distance to reach a provider (Fone, 2007). Due to a dearth of mental health outreach programs, the majority of providers, around 40 percent, are in hospitals. Rural inhabitants may not get the treatment they really need deserve if the hospital is a long distance away. An improved state of mind may help promote a healthy lifestyle, and RMHI is a good start.

Support for Change

In America, for instance, the Rural Mental Health Initiative was established with three goals in mind: education for mental health practitioners, education for the rural population, and the establishment of satellite facilities. Through its satellite facilities, the RMHI would offer opportunities for students to get internships and clinical experience (Chase, 2018). This opportunity would provide future mental health professionals with direct experience while also assisting the community in receiving mental health treatment. The policy would also require rural mental health to be included in the core curriculum so that all mental health providers are familiar with rural challenges.

Conclusion

Rural inhabitants must also be trained on how to recognize and handle mental health concerns. The RMHI would begin by educating and discussing mental health in schools. Because most to all children in rural regions attend school (Barrera et al., 2017), and they are our future, beginning early will help remove the stigma and lead to stronger community support. Aside from teaching children, it would be beneficial to educate adults on the seriousness of mental illness, the warning signs, and how to get treatment.

References:

Barrera, T. L., Cummings, J. P., Armento, M., Cully, J. A., Bush Amspoker, A., Wilson, N. L., … Stanley,M. A. (2017). Telephone-Delivered Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Older, Rural Veterans with Depression and Anxiety in Home-Based Primary Care. Clinical Gerontologist, 40(2), 114–123. https://doiorg.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1080/07317115.2016.1254133

Chase, M. (2018, June 27). Definition of Socioeconomic Factors. Retrieved February 3, 2019, from https://classroom.synonym.com/definition-of-socioeconomic-factors 12079366.html

Fone, D., Dunstan, F., Lloyd, K., Williams, G., Watkins, J., & Palmer, S. (2007). Does social cohesion modify the association between area income deprivation and mental health? A multilevel analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology, 36(2), 338-345. doi:10.1093/ije/dym004