The real problem that has culminated into crisis is the lack of access to an adequate cadre of rural behavioral health practitioners. Simply put, we don’t have enough people available to do the work that needs to be done.Ĭhallenges associated with access to and availability of rural behavioral health services in the United States has long been noted in both the literature and common knowledge (Mackie, 2011 Mackie & Berg, 2005 Merwin et al., 2003). When compared to urban places, rural communities typically show higher rates of health problems coupled with a broad lack of access to health services. While mental health rates are not necessarily higher than found in urban areas, a lack of services needed to treat these concerns significantly complicates the ability to diagnose and treat conditions. Too often, questions around the lack of access to rural behavioral health care centers on the belief that rural residents often may not seek services based on stigma and related concerns. While this does occur, it is NOT the main reason. Another often cited concern relates to burnout and job dissatisfaction (Mackie, 2005). These conclusions are at best mixed (Mackie, 2008 Brown et al., 2017). Past President, National Association for Rural Mental Health Professor of Social Work, Minnesota State University &
CONTEMPORARY RURAL SOCIAL WORK JOURNAL HOW TO
Rural Mental Health Work Force Position Paper: What We Know and How to Respond
0 kommentar(er)
