CMH2004

Mental health in rural settings

To be offered in 1999

6 credit points · 2 contact hours and 10 hours of study time per week · Taught through the Parkville (Royal Park) campus and by distance education · Second semester

Objectives The objectives are that students should have gained knowledge of the nature and descriptions of Australia's rural communities, an understanding of mental health service delivery issues for rural areas including specific strategies applicable to clinical care in rural areas, knowledge of special needs of Aboriginal populations and processes to meet those needs, an understanding of the state of knowledge regarding mental illness in these communities, and an awareness of issues relating to suicide in rural Australia.
Synopsis Models for mental health service delivery have been developed principally to service urban populations. This elective subject allows students to explore the special aspects of rural populations in Australia which necessitate modifications to treatment and service delivery strategies. The major areas to be covered include: population structures, migration patterns, distribution of Aboriginal populations and the study of cultural differences between urban and rural Australia; epidemiology of mental illness in rural Australia; development strategies for mental health service delivery in rural Australia including Aboriginal populations and crisis response strategies in rural and remote areas; economics of service delivery to rural and remote areas and the implications of demographic structures of rural communities for delivery of care; mobilising community resources in rural areas; adaptation of psychological techniques for low frequency contacts; electronic media, video conferencing and the potential of new technologies, including technical aspects of use of such methods and their integration with other service delivery methodologies. This subject will be taught using computer-mediated communication, video conferencing, residential schools and mailed out text-based materials, as well as on-campus seminars and tutorials.

Assessment Study journal: 30% · Written assessment totalling 4000 words: 70%

Back to the 1999 Medicine Handbook