Mental Health Aspects of Rural Living

Abstract

With increased globalization and movement of people, more people are moving to urban areas, but rural mental health remains of paramount importance due to specific issues and needs related to that. In this chapter, we will explore the mental health aspects of individuals living in rural settings. In this chapter, we describe the epidemiological rates of mental distress and psychiatric illnesses in rural communities. We also explore etiological differences in presentation in comparison to urban psychiatry. We will take a specific focus on rural farming communities who across the world face far higher rates of suicide than the general population. While looking at the factors that contribute this increased risk of suicidality, we will consider interventions that can help to reduce risk including social protective factors, healthcare, and policy changes and in doing so discuss the challenges and changes that need to be made to health provisions in rural settings to adequately provide mental health care for this at-risk population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)