Mental Health Care for Rural and Remote Australians During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Abstract

The aims of this article are to comment on pre–coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mental health activity in rural and remote Australia, including related air medical retrievals; to discuss how the current pandemic is likely to impact on this vulnerable population's mental health; and to provide potential solutions. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant air medical activity from rural and remote Australia. COVID-19 and the necessary public health and socioeconomic interventions are likely to significantly compound mental health problems for both the general public and the mental health workforce servicing rural and remote communities. However, the COVID-19 crisis provides a window of opportunity to develop, support, and build novel and sustainable solutions to the chronic mental health service vulnerabilities in rural and remote areas in Australia and other countries. As a result of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, rural and remote populations throughout the world are likely to suffer worse mental health outcomes than metropolitan populations because of a higher burden of underlying physical and mental health risk factors, poorer access to health services, and lower levels of psychological support.1 This is especially true of countries that have populations dispersed over wide areas, such as Australia, Canada, and China,2, 3, 4 with limited provision of generalist and specialist health care in rural and remote areas. Many rural populations are also socioeconomically disadvantaged, such as Australian and Canadian Aboriginal people.1,5 It is vitally important that the mental health needs of these vulnerable population groups are not forgotten during, and at the conclusion of, the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a critical need to collect quality data on the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across vulnerable groups.6 As such, the aims of this article are to comment on pre–COVID-19 mental health activity in rural and remote Australia, including related air medical retrievals; to discuss how the current pandemic is likely to impact on this vulnerable population's mental health; and to provide potential solutions. Show more