Mental healthcare is a serious problem for many people – from people who struggle only on bad days to those who are engaged in a life-or-death fight with their own minds every day, mental health is something that needs to be taken care of every time it occurs. However, while mental healthcare is a massive issue for a lot of people, the level of care that you can get will largely depend on the area you are in.
For example, you will often find that in urban areas, getting access to mental healthcare is much easier. People are able to find nearby resources, use the internet to set up appointments, and get to those appointments more easily. However, as you get into more rural areas, you will find that access gets harder to get to.
There are plenty of reasons why access to mental health is so different in rural areas. But how do healthcare professionals and mental health professionals focus on improving the access to mental healthcare for people in the rural areas of the world?
How does accessibility to care work?
One of the biggest roadblocks to people getting the care they need for their physical and mental health is access to care. As much as many people enjoy the convenience of being able to hop into a car and drive to the nearest hospital or the ability to call the hospital for a quick checkup, many people don’t have that. People in rural areas, hours away from the nearest city let alone the nearest hospital, might not be able to drive anywhere in the case of an emergency.
Additionally, people in rural areas might not have a strong internet connection to benefit from telehealth services and checkups. The sheer distance can make it difficult for people in rural areas to get the help they need, even if they have the money and the knowledge to seek out help. And often they might not have the insurance, even if they have the knowledge that something is wrong and that they do need help.
For mental health in rural areas, people often lack the information about how to get diagnosed for their problems. They might think they are just sad or worried or angry, but instead, they might have a true mental health problem that requires some serious treatment and support.
There are also various other challenges that can impact the mental health of people in rural areas, and one of them is the main weakness of a small town.
The acceptability of mental health issues in rural areas
There is a stigma that comes with mental health issues, which is that mental health is often a problem that can be fixed by yourself. Another stigma is that mental health just revolves around getting over whatever feeling you are dealing with, and once you do that everything will be okay. But in rural communities, it can be easier for people who are dealing with the various stigmas to get bad advice.
In many small communities, everyone knows everyone else, and confidentiality can be a problem. If you start talking about your mental health problems, you might find that the majority of the community knows about it, and they will give you informal care. While general good habits and informal care can do a decent job when it comes to fighting some mental health problems, many people need qualified medical help.
Overcoming the stigma of mental health issues is something that everyone needs to do, but it can be much harder in a smaller rural area than in a big city. Many mental healthcare professionals need to focus on spreading education about proper avenues where people can get help and support. Additionally, education about the signs, symptoms, and proper treatments of mental health can be extremely beneficial.
Expanding the access to telehealth and telepsychiatry
While the distance of a rural community can be a very hard thing to overcome for medical professionals, the biggest answer to this can be telemental health services. These services can ensure that people who need help are able to call in and talk with a licensed medical therapist or healthcare provider, and they can get all the help they need.
For medical professionals, they don’t just need to make sure that the service is available and accessible to their clients; they also need to make sure that they are promoting the perfect system for their clients’ needs. They need to create some telehealth services that are easy to use and easy for patients to get a hold of.
Making sure that your patients’ needs are being met and that your professionals know how to use the telehealth service can go a long way toward making sure that the service can actually help people. So don’t be afraid to roll out the correct service. Also, make sure that you have the proper training and have fully invested in it in order to provide the best help to your patients.
The fewer problems your clients have when using the software, the more they are going to be willing to use it, and the more support the healthcare professionals will be able to provide.
Giving education and prevention
Education about mental healthcare is hard enough for people in the big cities to get right, so it can be understood that mental healthcare in rural areas is pretty hard to learn about. For many people, they simply receive different pieces of advice from people who want to help but don’t know how, or people who may share which mental health tricks and cures worked for them.
For many people, being properly educated about mental health can help them gain some control over their lives. While every mental health case is going to be different depending on the person, there can be common habits or scenarios that will increase the chances of mental health issues occurring. Proper education can also give people hope about how to handle their conditions, rather than feeling hopeless or unsure of what to do.
Additionally, having access to preventative care can stop people from dealing with massive mental health crises. Instead, they can get access to the care and the support they need without suffering, and with the correct preventative care, they can start to live normal lives.
Mental health professionals can work with community leaders
Often a lot of these ideas are very good, and many mental health professionals know all about the various benefits improvements can provide. However, the biggest issue that many professionals have is that they aren’t able to get into the world of the community. Community members may be resistant to getting mental health services or simply don’t know where to start, and that is where working with community leaders comes in.
Community leaders often have their fingers on the pulse of the community, and they know the problems that various people in the community are facing. Then they can talk to the mental health professionals and ensure that they know the problems that the community has. This ensures that the mental health professionals are able to focus on providing the correct support for the community. Additionally, the leaders can ensure that they talk to the community in order to make sure that the people actually use the mental health services.
There should be a focus on integrated care and community advocacy
While many people in rural areas might not focus on mental healthcare, they will likely focus on the care of their physical health. This is where integrated care comes in – where the general and physical medical services are blended with behavioral care. Basically, it is a holistic approach to healthcare where the entire patient is looked at and taken care of.
Additionally, community advocacy is focused on bringing the community together around people with severe mental illnesses. There are people who are going to need help to manage their mental health issues, and whenever the community is focused on managing the mental health issues of their members, they will find that mental health is going to improve for everyone.
The best mental health services are going to empower the community and ensure that each member is able to get a handle on their mental health. So don’t be afraid to focus on making sure that your plan for adding mental health to the rural areas keeps the community in the loop.
What kind of jobs are going to support rural communities?
If you want to focus on ensuring that the rural communities in your area are supported when it comes to their mental health, then you might wonder what type of medical job is going to be the most important. For many people, it is a Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. These jobs are going to be able to help people access, diagnose, and treat mental health issues.
However, for as many people who are suffering from mental health issues as there are, the need for more mental health nurse practitioners is only going to grow. If you want to help your community as well as other communities around you, then becoming a Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner is the best place to start.
In order to get started with this degree, you need to make sure that you find a program and school that caters to modern challenges with well designed curriculum For example, the MSN PMHNP online programs from Wilkes University are able to give you all of the essential skills that you need in order to get you ready to provide support for individuals and communities. It will take you about two years to complete the program from Wilkes University, where you will take 15 courses and log 500 clinical hours.
Some of the things you will learn about include advanced path physiology, advanced pharmacology, and how to understand the health perspectives of various populations. These courses and many others will help you better connect to the community you serve.
Once you get your degree, you will be able to better support the rural communities that you love and ensure that you can provide the proper medical support.
Mental health is important for everyone
Don’t be afraid to think that your mental health is solely going to be for people who are in the urban areas. People in rural areas suffer just as much from common mental health issues, and they deserve help and support from medical professionals. So if you are a mental health professional, please consider putting time and resources toward mental health in rural communities as well.
People there need your help, and they also need to be confident in how to use the help they receive. The sooner you can focus on creating new ways for them to achieve their mental health goals, the better it will be for you, your practice, and the people you are helping.
