Improving the mental health of rural New South Wales communities facing drought and other adversities: RURAL ADVERSITY MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: NSW has just experienced its worst drought in a century. As years passed with insufficient rain, drought-related mental health problems became evident on farms. Our objective is to describe how, in response, the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program was introduced in 2007 to raise awareness of drought-related mental health needs and help address these needs in rural and remote NSW. The program has since expanded to include other forms of rural adversity, including recent floods. SETTING: Rural NSW. DESIGN, PARTICIPANTS, INTERVENTIONS: Designed around community development principles, health, local service networks and partner agencies collaborated to promote mental health, education and early intervention. Strategies included raising mental health literacy, organising community social events and disseminating drought-related information. Priority areas were Aboriginal communities, older farmers, young people, women, primary health care and substance use. RESULTS: Over 3000 people received mental health literacy training in the four years of operation from 2007 to 2010. Stakeholders collaborated to conduct hundreds of mental health-related events attended by thousands of people. A free rural mental health support telephone line provided crisis help and referral to rural mental health-related services. CONCLUSION: Drought affected mental health in rural NSW. A community development model was accepted and considered effective in helping communities build capacity and resilience in the face of chronic drought-related hardship. Given the scale, complexity and significance of drought impacts and rural adjustment, and the threats posed by climate change, a long-term approach to funding such programs would be appropriate.
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A study from rural Australia described a community development model incorporating health promotion, education, and early intervention as accepted and considered effective in helping communities build capacity and resilience in the face of chronic drought-related hardship.
“A study from rural Australia has described how a community development model, incorporating elements of health promotion, education, and early intervention, was accepted and considered effective in helping communities build capacity and resilience in the face of chronic drought-related hardship [85].”
From Climate Change and Mental Health: A Scoping Review (2021) · cites this paper as [85]
Cites
Rigby, C. W., Rosen, A., Berry, H. L., & Hart, C. R. (2011) · Australian Journal of Rural Health · doi:10.1111/j.1440-1584.2011.01223.x · Cited by 157 · see citing works
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Climate Change and Mental Health: A Scoping Review
Charlson, F., Ali, S., Benmarhnia, T., Pearl, M., Massazza, A., Augustinavicius, J., & Scott, J. G. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18094486 · Cited by 507 · see citing works
Health Effects of Drought: a Systematic Review of the Evidence
Stanke, C., Kerac, M., Prudhomme, C., Medlock, J., & Murray, V. (2013) · PLoS Currents · doi:10.1371/currents.dis.7a2cee9e980f91ad7697b570bcc4b004 · Cited by 441 · see citing works
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Indigenous mental health in a changing climate: A systematic scoping review of the global literature
Middleton, J., Cunsolo, A., Jones-Bitton, A., Wright, C. J., & Harper, S. L. (2020) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ab68a9 · Cited by 212 · see citing works
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Examining relationships between climate change and mental health in the Circumpolar North
Cunsolo Willox, A., Stephenson, E., Allen, J., Bourque, F., Drossos, A., Elgarøy, S., Kral, M. J., Mauro, I., Moses, J., Pearce, T., et al. (2015) · Regional Environmental Change · doi:10.1007/s10113-014-0630-z · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Climate Change, Drought and Human Health in Canada
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Rigby, C. W., Rosen, A., Berry, H. L., & Hart, C. R. (2011) · Australian Journal of Rural Health · doi:10.1111/j.1440-1584.2011.01223.x · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Self-citationMental Health Impacts of Climate Change Among Vulnerable Populations Globally: An Integrative Review
White, B. P., Breakey, S., Brown, M. J., Smith, J. R., Tarbet, A., Nicholas, P. K., & Ros, A. M. V. (2023) · Annals of Global Health · doi:10.5334/aogh.4105 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Farmer Mental Health Interventions: A Systematic Review
Younker, T., & Radunovich, H. L. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19010244 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
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“Second, people in green professions might be an occupational group that is generally hard to reach and difficult to treat, due to presumed aspects like perceived stigma for mental health seeking [34,113] or limited digital or mental health literacy, with programs specifically being developed to enhance mental health k…”
Background
- Authors
- Hart, C. R., Berry, H. L., & Tonna, A. M.
- Affiliations
- Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health (AU)
- University of Canberra (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Berry, Helen Louise
- ORCID
- Berry, Helen Louise
- Venue
- Australian Journal of Rural Health
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2011-09-21
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 231-238
- ISSN
- 1038-5282 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1520314548
- Cited by
- 85
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 12.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Australian Journal of Rural Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- University of Canberra Research Portal (submittedVersion)
- NOVA (University of Newcastle Australia) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Newcastle Australia
- New South Wales Government
- NSW Department of Primary Industries
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Agriculture and Farm Safety
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Rural development and sustainability
- Keywords
- drought, rural mental health, mental health literacy, community development, Aboriginal communities, elderly farmers, community resilience, early intervention, floods, New South Wales
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Attitude to Health, Cultural Characteristics, Disasters, Female, Health Promotion, Health Services, Indigenous, Health Status, Humans, Male, Mental Health, New South Wales, Rural Population, Social Support, Rural Health Services, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
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