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

Fergus W Gardiner; Lara Bishop; Leonid Churilov; Noel Collins; John O'Donnell; Mathew Coleman

doi:10.1016/j.amj.2020.08.008

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

Air Med J. 2020 Nov-Dec;39(6):516-519. doi: 10.1016/j.amj.2020.08.008. Epub 2020 Sep 8.

Authors

Fergus W Gardiner¹, Lara Bishop², Leonid Churilov³, Noel Collins⁴, John O'Donnell⁵, Mathew Coleman⁴

Affiliations

¹ The Royal Flying Doctor Service, Canberra, Australia; National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health and The Australian National University Medical School, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Electronic address: fergus.gardiner@rfds.org.au.
² The Royal Flying Doctor Service, Canberra, Australia; National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health and The Australian National University Medical School, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
³ Department of Medicine (Austin Health) and Melbourne Brain Centre at Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
⁴ The Rural Clinical School of Western Australia, University of Western Australia, Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
⁵ The Royal Flying Doctor Service, Canberra, Australia.

PMID: 33228907
DOI: 10.1016/j.amj.2020.08.008

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.

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Air Ambulances / organization & administration
Air Ambulances / statistics & numerical data
Australia / epidemiology
COVID-19 / epidemiology
COVID-19 / psychology*
Female
Health Services Accessibility / organization & administration*
Health Services Accessibility / trends
Humans
Male
Mental Disorders / diagnosis
Mental Disorders / epidemiology
Mental Disorders / etiology
Mental Disorders / therapy*
Mental Health Services / organization & administration*
Mental Health Services / trends
Middle Aged
Pandemics
Rural Health / trends
Rural Health Services / organization & administration*
Rural Health Services / trends
Telemedicine / methods
Telemedicine / organization & administration
Telemedicine / trends