Mental Health And Illness In The Rural World

This book looks into the mental health challenges in the rural world, the socio economic and cultural factors bearing on them and the best clinical practices to deal with them. It elaborates on the pressures of globalization and modernization that rural people find themselves in which brings about ever increasing stressful conditions. It also covers the lack of awareness about mental health issues and services which lead to further problems.

This book considers how rurality interacts with the mental health and wellbeing of individuals and communities in different regional settings. Through the use of international and comparative case studies, the book offers insight into the spatiality of mental health diagnoses, experiences, services provision and services access between and within rural areas. It is the first book to specifically address rural mental health geographies from an international perspective, and will be of interest to researchers and policymakers in rural studies, regional studies, health geography and rural mental health.

Addressing the needs of America's most underserved areas for mental health services, Rural Mental Health offers the most up-to-date, research-based information on policies and practice in rural and frontier populations. This highly readable book focuses on best practices and new models of service delivery in rural populations throughout the world, with a specific emphasis on those in the US. Eminent clinicians and researchers examine the complexities of improving mental health in rural practice and offer clear recommendations which can be adapted into current practice and training programs. Th

The Social Determinants of Mental Health aims to fill the gap that exists in the psychiatric, scholarly, and policy-related literature on the social determinants of mental health: those factors stemming from where we learn, play, live, work, and age that impact our overall mental health and well-being. The editors and an impressive roster of chapter authors from diverse scholarly backgrounds provide detailed information on topics such as discrimination and social exclusion; adverse early life experiences; poor education; unemployment, underemployment, and job insecurity; income inequality, poverty, and neighborhood deprivation; food insecurity; poor housing quality and housing instability; adverse features of the built environment; and poor access to mental health care. This thought-provoking book offers many beneficial features for clinicians and public health professionals: Clinical vignettes are included, designed to make the content accessible to readers who are primarily clinicians and also to demonstrate the practical, individual-level applicability of the subject matter for those who typically work at the public health, population, and/or policy level. Policy implications are discussed throughout, designed to make the content accessible to readers who work primarily at the public health or population level and also to demonstrate the policy relevance of the subject matter for those who typically work at the clinical level. All chapters include five to six key points that focus on the most important content, helping to both prepare the reader with a brief overview of the chapter's main points and reinforce the "take-away" messages afterward. In addition to the main body of the book, which focuses on selected individual social determinants of mental health, the volume includes an in-depth overview that summarizes the editors' and their colleagues' conceptualization, as well as a final chapter coauthored by Dr. David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States, that serves as a "Call to Action," offering specific actions that can be taken by both clinicians and policymakers to address the social determinants of mental health. The editors have succeeded in the difficult task of balancing the individual/clinical/patient perspective and the population/public health/community point of view, while underscoring the need for both groups to work in a unified way to address the inequities in twenty-first century America. The Social Determinants of Mental Health gives readers the tools to understand and act to improve mental health and reduce risk for mental illnesses for individuals and communities. Students preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) will also benefit from this book, as the MCAT in 2015 will test applicants' knowledge of social determinants of health. The social determinants of mental health are not distinct from the social determinants of physical health, although they deserve special emphasis given the prevalence and burden of poor mental health.

Rural Women's Health encompasses the breadth and depth of the unique physical and psychological needs facing rural women throughout the United States and Canada, and identifies positive interventions and outcomes. Raymond T. Coward, founding editor of The Journal of Rural Health, along with five leading practitioners and researchers with contributions from over 25 educators, authors, program leaders, and researchers representing the multidisciplinary spectrum of rural health professionals, present the most comprehensive coverage on rural women's health that exists today. Key issues covered include: Socio-cultural stressors Policy changes Barriers to accessing mental health treatment Obesity and risk factors Behavioral risk factors Chronic diseases Exercise, nutrition, and health promotion programs Education and telehealth This is a valuable resource for mental health service providers, gerontologists, social workers, psychologists, counselors, and primary care physicians.

Over the past fifty years we have seen an enormous demographic shift in the number of people migrating to urban areas, proliferated by factors such as industrialisation and globalisation. Urban migration has led to numerous societal stressors such as pollution, overcrowding, unemployment, and resource, which in turn has contributed to psychiatric disorders within urban spaces. Rates of mental illness, addictions, and violence are higher in urban areas and changes in social network systems and support have increased levels of social isolation and lack of social support. Part of the Oxford Cultural Psychiatry series, Urban Mental Health brings together international perspectives on urbanisation, its impacts on mental health, the nature of the built environment, and the dynamic nature of social engagement. Containing 24 chapters on key topics such as research challenges, adolescent mental health, and suicides in cities, this resource provides a refreshing look at the challenges faced by clinicians and mental health care professionals today. Emphasis is placed on findings from low- and middle-income countries where expansion is rapid and resources limited bridging the gap in research findings.

This book highlights a broad range of issues on mental health and illness in large cities. It presents the epidemiology of mental disorders in cities, cultural issues of urban mental health care, and community care in large cities and urban slums. It also includes chapters on homelessness, crime and racism - problems that are increasingly prevalent in many cities world wide. Finally, it looks at the increasing challenges of mental disorders in rapidly growing cities. The book is aimed at an international audience and includes contributions from clinicians and researchers worldwide.