Services in rural areas

Abstract

The need for interdisciplinary collaboration and the open exchange of information among professionals in public health, medicine, the ministry, and various mental health and social services disciplines is clearly demonstrated when mental health issues affecting women are viewed in the context of rurality. This is particularly true when these mental health issues are considered in terms of the broader perspective of behavioral health as recommended by the American Psychological Association (Mulder et al. 2000). Many of the most critical mental health and substance abuse concerns of rural women are shared by urban and suburban women. However, cultural, social, economic, and geographic factors commonly associated with rural residence frequently result in unique behavioral presentations that require culturally appropriate, multidimensional, and interdisciplinary responses that cover practice, policy making, and the setting of future research agendas. © 2010 Springer-Verlag New York.