Mental health Rural v/s Urban
Rural area or countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Cities, towns and suburbs are classified as Urban areas. Typically, Urban areas have high population density and rural areas have low population density. This article is important from the perspective of getting a mental problems cause and fact of Urban vs Rural areas.
Poorly designed cities and buildings impact us in more ways than one. We could use the post-Covid era as a chance to make changes in our living environment
Most of us are used to navigating serpentine traffic jams on potholes-ridden roads on the way to work every morning. We stare at pictures of soothing mountains and blue skies, wishing we could get away when our dull, bare office walls remind us to get back to work. Overall, urban workers are stressed, irritable and anxious. We can brush it off as just another city life syndrome, but it turns out our surroundings impact us in more ways than you can imagine.
According to the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health (UD/MH), cities are associated with higher rates of most mental health problems compared to rural areas: an almost 40% higher risk of depression, over 20% more of anxiety, and double the risk of schizophrenia, in addition to loneliness, isolation and stress. In India, while we are beginning to see how urban design impacts physical health, only a handful of experts understand the links between mental health and our poorly designed cities.
The Covid pandemic has highlighted the need to put people first and create liveable cities. Perhaps we won’t get another chance to relook at the designs of our neighbourhoods and make our post-Covid world more liveable.
Rural Overview
According to the Results from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables, approximately 7.3 million nonmetropolitan adults reported having any mental illness (AMI) in 2019, accounting for 21.2% of nonmetro adults. In addition, nearly 1.6 million, or 4.8%, of adults in nonmetropolitan areas reported having serious thoughts of suicide during the year.
While the prevalence of mental illness is similar between rural and urban residents, the services available are very different. Mental healthcare needs are not met in many rural communities across the country because adequate services are not present. Providing mental health services can be challenging in rural areas. According to WICHE’s Rural Mental Health: Challenges and Opportunities Caring for the Country, the following factors are particular challenges to the provision of mental health services in rural communities:
Accessibility — Rural residents often travel long distances to receive services, are less likely to be insured for mental health services, and are less likely to recognize an illness.
Availability — Chronic shortages of mental health professionals exist and mental health providers are more likely to practice in urban centers.
Acceptability — The stigma of needing or receiving mental healthcare and fewer choices of trained professionals who work in rural areas create barriers to care.
