What is rural mental health?

1. What “rural” means

2. Why access can be different in rural areas

3. Importance of awareness in local communities

What is rural mental health and why is it so important? For years, society has focused on the general population that resides in the cities but what about those who live in hard to reach areas? Honoka’a for example, a small town in Hawaii faces multiple challenges in terms of accessing mental health support. For one, this small town is dozens of miles away from a major hospital or professional clinics. In some cases, patients need to fly over to another island to receive the help they deserve. This may not seem like a big issue but we do not see factors such as travel expenses and other miscellaneous things that can be covered up easily. The real meaning behind the word “rural” can go from a small town to a remote farm.

Access can be extremely different depending on the rural area an individual might be located in. For example, geographical barriers such as long travel distances can make finding care hard. Next, one rural town could be possibly be more closer to a lot of clinics or professionals— but this is not always the case. In other desolate areas, there are a few to none.

So, the importance of awareness in local communities lie in supporting eachother through the proper methods to build a foundation that nurtures growth, not fear.