The Rural Services Network has published an interesting article on health in rural areas.
According to Defra’s Statistical Digest of Rural England, if you live in the countryside your life expectancy increases and you are less likely to die prematurely from cancer, stroke or coronary heart disease. On average, people born in very rural areas will live up to two years longer than those in major urban area.
While that’s great news for physical health, many people living in rural areas have lower overall accessibility to key services such as GPs and hospitals, and experience poverty, isolation and mental illness.
There’s a wealth of data about the number of people coming into contact with mental health services but much less research specifically into rural mental health. Evidence does seem to suggest that mental health is probably better in rural areas but that demography, access, social exclusion and deprivation certainly contribute to stress, anxiety and depression. People living in rural areas also seem less likely to seek treatment than their urban counterparts.
How can we put mental health issues at the forefront of rural communities? Sometimes there can be a culture of self-reliance and stoicism towards mental health problems which prevents rural dwellers seeking medical help.
Should we be looking at ‘themes’ such as adult, child, older adults, substance misuse and so on, or at the actual geography of the local area, level of general provision and the problem of ‘postcode lotteries’? How can we balance the ‘quality of mental health service’ with ‘distance of travel to access these services’?
It’s a complex debate. Read the full article here and find out more about the Rural Services Network’s work on health issues by clicking here.
Article courtesy of Community Action Norfolk
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