{"id":211712,"date":"2018-06-20T10:50:12","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T00:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=211712"},"modified":"2020-07-31T10:22:52","modified_gmt":"2020-07-31T00:22:52","slug":"mental-illness-under-reported-in-rural-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2018\/06\/20\/mental-illness-under-reported-in-rural-areas\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Illness Under-Reported In Rural Areas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Researcher Dr Tonelle Handley (Photo NHMRC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 20, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

One-third of country people who are suffering moderate to high psychological distress don’t think they have a mental health problem.<\/p>\n

That’s the key finding of research published recently in the Australian Journal of Rural Health.<\/p>\n

Researchers at the University of Newcastle and Hunter New England Mental Health surveyed 2500 people.<\/p>\n

Respondents were asked if they had experienced any mental health problems in the past 12 months, and then filled in a questionnaire that measured psychological distress.<\/p>\n

A total of 472 people reported moderate to very high levels of psychological distress in the past 12 months, but one-third of these people did not report any mental health problems.<\/p>\n

The survey demonstrated that a significant portion of country people have problems identifying mental illness.<\/p>\n

The study said mental illness in rural areas was often under-reported because of the lack of mental health professionals working in the country.<\/p>\n

But it noted that rural people were less likely to seek help even if services were available.<\/p>\n

The study said “poor mental health literacy” was a critical barrier to country people getting the help they need.<\/p>\n

It adds that country people were reluctant to acknowledge distress as a problem, and had a tendency to associate “mental health problems” with severe disorders that might require hospitalisation.<\/p>\n

Lead author Dr Tonelle Handley has called for a public health campaign that specifically targets country people.<\/p>\n