Employment and retirement impacts on health and wellbeing among a sample of rural Australians.

Background: In Australia, it is projected that one in four individuals will be at the nominal retirement age of 65 or over by 2056; this effect is expected to be especially pronounced in rural areas. Previous findings on the effects of retirement on wellbeing have been mixed. The present study explores the effects of employment and retirement on health and wellbeing among a sample of rural Australians.

Is the reported increase in young female hospital-treated intentional self-harm real or artefactual?

Background: The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has reported an increased rate of hospital-treated intentional self-harm in young females (2000-2012) in Australia. These reported increases arise from institutional data that are acknowledged to underestimate the true rate, although the degree of underestimation is not known.

Objective: To consider whether the reported increase in young females' hospital-treated intentional self-harm is real or artefactual and specify the degree of institutional underestimation.

The predictors of depression in a longitudinal cohort of community dwelling rural adults in Australia.

Purpose: Many major studies of depression in Australia are under-representative of rural and remote residents, limiting the generalizability of their findings. This study explores the contributions of a range of individual, social, and community factors to the trajectory of depressive symptoms among a cohort of rural and remote residents.

Methods: Data from four waves of the Australian Rural Mental Health Study (baseline n = 2639), a 5 year longitudinal study of rural community residents, were examined within generalized linear mixed models to predict depressive symptoms.

Self-recognition of mental health problems in a rural Australian sample.

Objective: Although mental health literacy has increased in recent years, mental illness is often under-recognised. There has been little research conducted on mental illness in rural areas; however, this can be most prominent in rural areas due to factors such as greater stigma and stoicism. The aim of this study is to create a profile of those who are most and least likely to self-identify mental health problems among rural residents with moderate- to-high psychological distress.

Self-reported contacts for mental health problems by rural residents: predicted service needs, facilitators and barriers.

Background: Rural and remote Australians face a range of barriers to mental health care, potentially limiting the extent to which current services and support networks may provide assistance. This paper examines self-reported mental health problems and contacts during the last 12 months, and explores cross-sectional associations between potential facilitators/barriers and professional and non-professional help-seeking, while taking into account expected associations with socio-demographic and health-related factors.

Methods: During the 3-year follow-up of the Australian Rural Mental Health Study (ARMHS) a self-report survey was completed by adult rural residents (N = 1,231; 61% female; 77% married; 22% remote location; mean age = 59 years), which examined socio-demographic characteristics, current health status factors, predicted service needs, self-reported professional and non-professional contacts for mental health problems in the last 12 months, other aspects of help-seeking, and perceived barriers.

Feasibility of internet-delivered mental health treatments for rural populations.

Purpose: Rural populations face numerous barriers to mental health care. Although internet-delivered mental health treatments may offer an accessible and cost-effective answer to these barriers, there has been little evaluation of the feasibility of this approach among rural communities.

Methods: Data were obtained from a random rural community sample through the third wave of the Australian Rural Mental Health Study.

Individual and district-level predictors of alcohol use: cross sectional findings from a rural mental health survey in Australia.

Background: Excessive alcohol use is a significant problem in rural and remote Australia. The factors contributing to patterns of alcohol use have not been adequately explained, yet the geographic variation in rates suggests a potential contribution of district-level factors, such as socio-economic disadvantage, rates of population change, environmental adversity, and remoteness from services/population centres. This paper aims to investigate individual-level and district-level predictors of alcohol use in a sample of rural adults.