Mental health service preferences in rural Australia: the importance of culture and connection
Objective There is a lack of adequate mental health services available in rural and remote Australia, with rural Australians experiencing poorer mental health outcomes than those in urban areas. Service access needs to improve, and the current study aimed to address this by exploring the acceptabili...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Australian Journal of Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/00049530.2025.2544924 |
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| author | Margot P. Moody Natasha M. Loi Adam J. Rock Kim J. Usher Kylie Rice |
| author_facet | Margot P. Moody Natasha M. Loi Adam J. Rock Kim J. Usher Kylie Rice |
| author_sort | Margot P. Moody |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective There is a lack of adequate mental health services available in rural and remote Australia, with rural Australians experiencing poorer mental health outcomes than those in urban areas. Service access needs to improve, and the current study aimed to address this by exploring the acceptability of services, including telehealth, among rural Australians.Method A convergent mixed-method online survey was used to examine mental health service and clinician preferences via a series of open-ended and scaled questions. A total of 294 rural and regional Australians participated in the study, and textual responses were analysed using reflexive content analysis, with a repeated measures analysis of variance utilised to further examine telehealth acceptability.Results Results indicated a preference for in-person support that was accessible and available, with clinicians who were qualified and clinically competent. The importance of cultural competence was also highlighted, with responses indicating a need for clinicians with both rural and local knowledge, who also fostered connection and trust with their clients. Likewise, participants demonstrated an increasing acceptability of telehealth, provided the clinician was rurally based.Conclusions The results indicate a need for mental health services in rural Australia to be acceptable and relevant in order to best meet the needs of this population. Implications for future service delivery in rural areas, including recommendations for further research, are discussed. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e917cca757594521a502d2b6faf0703a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0004-9530 1742-9536 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Australian Journal of Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-e917cca757594521a502d2b6faf0703a2025-08-20T03:47:01ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAustralian Journal of Psychology0004-95301742-95362025-12-0177110.1080/00049530.2025.2544924Mental health service preferences in rural Australia: the importance of culture and connectionMargot P. Moody0Natasha M. Loi1Adam J. Rock2Kim J. Usher3Kylie Rice4School of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, AustraliaSchool of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, AustraliaSchool of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, AustraliaSchool of Health, University of New England, Armidale, AustraliaSchool of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, AustraliaObjective There is a lack of adequate mental health services available in rural and remote Australia, with rural Australians experiencing poorer mental health outcomes than those in urban areas. Service access needs to improve, and the current study aimed to address this by exploring the acceptability of services, including telehealth, among rural Australians.Method A convergent mixed-method online survey was used to examine mental health service and clinician preferences via a series of open-ended and scaled questions. A total of 294 rural and regional Australians participated in the study, and textual responses were analysed using reflexive content analysis, with a repeated measures analysis of variance utilised to further examine telehealth acceptability.Results Results indicated a preference for in-person support that was accessible and available, with clinicians who were qualified and clinically competent. The importance of cultural competence was also highlighted, with responses indicating a need for clinicians with both rural and local knowledge, who also fostered connection and trust with their clients. Likewise, participants demonstrated an increasing acceptability of telehealth, provided the clinician was rurally based.Conclusions The results indicate a need for mental health services in rural Australia to be acceptable and relevant in order to best meet the needs of this population. Implications for future service delivery in rural areas, including recommendations for further research, are discussed.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/00049530.2025.2544924Ruralmental healthaccessibilitytelehealthpreferences |
| spellingShingle | Margot P. Moody Natasha M. Loi Adam J. Rock Kim J. Usher Kylie Rice Mental health service preferences in rural Australia: the importance of culture and connection Australian Journal of Psychology Rural mental health accessibility telehealth preferences |
| title | Mental health service preferences in rural Australia: the importance of culture and connection |
| title_full | Mental health service preferences in rural Australia: the importance of culture and connection |
| title_fullStr | Mental health service preferences in rural Australia: the importance of culture and connection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mental health service preferences in rural Australia: the importance of culture and connection |
| title_short | Mental health service preferences in rural Australia: the importance of culture and connection |
| title_sort | mental health service preferences in rural australia the importance of culture and connection |
| topic | Rural mental health accessibility telehealth preferences |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/00049530.2025.2544924 |
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