Mental health and social care in rural environments – addressing the impact for families
In Australia each year around 2000 people die from suicide. This equates to more deaths than by motor vehicle accident or breast cancer. Over the past decade there has been considerable Government funding injected into understanding the risk of suicide in the community generally, with some promising results now widely available. We understand that among these identified risk groups, people who reside in rural and remote areas feature heavily – young men and Indigenous people most prominently. There are some programs that have found some success in reducing the rate of death due to suicide, however, there is still a long way to go to reduce the rate of death in our rural communities.
In addition to the loss of life, those connected to the deceased experience extreme grief. Within the family unit, parents and siblings reel with the news of the loss of a young loved one. While the grief experienced by those closest to the deceased is extreme, grief and misunderstandings following such a death are felt in schools, church groups, community organisations, the workplace and throughout the whole community.
Suicide is one indicator of the general mental health of individuals within a community. In recent years those diagnosed with mental health problems has been rising across the globe, the country and within rural communities. How we best address the health, social and emotional needs of those experiencing mental anguish and distress to foster resilient communities is a pressing need to ensure the safety of the community.
The aim of this project is to continue to investigate the mental health of individuals and families living within rural communities and is based around three themes:
- Trauma and Loss.
- Service Provision.
- The Environment.
To fully explore this topic it is the intention that the research team will be drawn from across the UNE disciplines with members coming from Health, Business, Economic and Public Policy, Education, Psychology, Sociology/Criminology and Rural Futures.
The lead researcher is working nationally with colleagues from government (state and federal), universities, non-government organisations, peak bodies and service providers on a number of projects examining the effects of suicide within the family and community and mental health issues as they emerge within families. Internationally, our research is being utilised by renowned suicide researchers from Australia, North America, Asia-Pacific and the United Kingdom to further understanding of the impact of suicide and mental health issues.
UNE is well-placed to further research this area, building on strengths of the last decade. For example, since 2005, the Faculty of The Professions has graduated two PhD students and four Masters students in the areas of suicide (prevention, intervention, and postvention) and/or mental health more broadly.
For more information please contact Dr Myfanwy Maple: m.maple@une.edu.au