TY - JOUR
T1 - Rural versus urban perspectives on behavioral health issues and priorities
AU - Cuthbertson, Courtney A.
AU - Albrecht, Don E.
AU - Loveridge, Scott
N1 - This work was supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, [grant number 2013-48765-21544].
PY - 2017/8/8
Y1 - 2017/8/8
N2 - Local incidence of behavioral health issues such as substance abuse or poor mental health are a topic of increasing concern, but the specific needs, issues, and priorities of cities can differ from those in rural areas. We illustrate how rural and urban perceptions and knowledge may differ with a survey about community behavioral health priorities in Clark County, Nevada. The survey had a 44% response rate and the sample was 77.3% urban. Rural leaders had different behavioral health concerns and received information from different sources than their urban counterparts. Alcohol abuse and illegal drug use were top behavioral health priorities for both groups. Rural leaders cited mental and physical abuse as priorities, while urban leaders prioritized depression and suicide. The findings demonstrate the importance of recognizing that geographic proximity does not equate to identical behavioral health concerns or priorities, which also impacts community use of data for decision-making.
AB - Local incidence of behavioral health issues such as substance abuse or poor mental health are a topic of increasing concern, but the specific needs, issues, and priorities of cities can differ from those in rural areas. We illustrate how rural and urban perceptions and knowledge may differ with a survey about community behavioral health priorities in Clark County, Nevada. The survey had a 44% response rate and the sample was 77.3% urban. Rural leaders had different behavioral health concerns and received information from different sources than their urban counterparts. Alcohol abuse and illegal drug use were top behavioral health priorities for both groups. Rural leaders cited mental and physical abuse as priorities, while urban leaders prioritized depression and suicide. The findings demonstrate the importance of recognizing that geographic proximity does not equate to identical behavioral health concerns or priorities, which also impacts community use of data for decision-making.
KW - Leadership
KW - mental health
KW - urban–rural interface
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85021785790&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1080/15575330.2017.1344718
DO - 10.1080/15575330.2017.1344718
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85021785790
SN - 1557-5330
VL - 48
SP - 515
EP - 526
JO - Community Development
JF - Community Development
IS - 4
ER -