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Wadsworth et al_2024_Conducting mental health research with rural and regional older Australians780.59 kB
Published VersionCC BY-NC V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Conducting mental health research with rural and regional older Australians: Reflections and recommendations
Australian Journal of Rural Health, Vol.32(5), pp.1076-1081
2024
Appears in UniSC Supported Open Access Outputs
Abstract
Aims
This commentary aims to assist emerging leaders of mental health research with older rural Australians through (i) affirmation that others share the barriers, pitfalls and challenges being faced; (ii) reinforcing the rationale making this a pertinent area for research; and (iii) opening a dialogue for best practice to engage older rural Australians in mental health research.
Context
Supporting the mental health of older adults is a pertinent global challenge, none more so than in rural Australia where restricted access to services and supports are compounded by limited help-seeking behaviours and capacity to engage with support. Paradoxically, such limitations also extend to impact researchers' ability to engage rural older Australians in mental health research, particularly when combined with the stoicism and stigma that often envelopes mental health, and the contemporary challenges posed by the emergence of technology. Such challenges are however not often discussed, more-often sidelined in favour of reporting positive research outcomes, or seeing emerging researchers eschew such focus entirely.
Approach
Through this paper, the authors utilised critical self-appraisal and iterative reflection to identify four recommendations for undertaking contemporary mental health research with rural older Australians, namely to: plan realistically through a collaborative, authentic and respectful approach; identify community champions and build/maintain trust; diversify thought, approaches and methodology; and cast the research net far, wide and often.
Conclusion
By adopting recommendations, researchers can maximise accessibility to and possible participation in mental health research, providing foundations for older rural Australians' contributions to inform the development of policies and strategies to promote their health and well-being.
Details
- Title
- Conducting mental health research with rural and regional older Australians: Reflections and recommendations
- Authors
- Daniel Wadsworth (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - NursingBelinda Cash (Author) - Charles Sturt UniversityKris Tulloch (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - PsychologyRebekah Couper (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - PsychologyKristy Robson (Author) - Charles Sturt UniversitySally Fitzpatrick (Author) - Manna Institute
- Publication details
- Australian Journal of Rural Health, Vol.32(5), pp.1076-1081
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1111/ajr.13165
- ISSN
- 1440-1584; 1038-5282
- Copyright note
- © 2024 The Author(s). Australian Journal of Rural Health published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of National Rural Health Alliance Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
- Data Availability
- Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
- Organisation Unit
- Healthy Ageing Research Cluster; School of Health - Nursing
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991048498802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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