Learning from lived experience: rural older Australians' perspectives of mental health, wellbeing, and support

Daniel P. Wadsworth; Belinda Cash; Kristy Robson; Kristen Tulloch; Rebekah Couper; Sarah Kolesaric; Mia A. Schaumberg; Sally Fitzpatrick

doi:10.1080/13607863.2025.2529269

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Learning from lived experience: rural older Australians' perspectives of mental health, wellbeing, and support

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Learning from lived experience: rural older Australians' perspectives of mental health, wellbeing, and support

Daniel P. Wadsworth, Belinda Cash, Kristy Robson, Kristen Tulloch, Rebekah Couper, Sarah Kolesaric, Mia A. Schaumberg and Sally Fitzpatrick

Aging & Mental Health, Vol.29(11), pp.2086-2094

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2025.2529269

PMID: 40618324

Appears in Thompson Institute Research Collection

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Abstract

older adult

carer

mental health support

mental health services

rural

Thompson Institute Special Collection

Healthy Brain Ageing

UniSC Diversity Area - Life Stages

Objectives Older adults with poor mental health living in rural areas are seldom heard in research and disadvantaged in health service provision. Consequently, this study aimed to explore rural older Australians’ perspectives of mental health, wellbeing, and access to and receipt of support. Method Six older adults with recent self- or clinically-diagnosed mental ill-health in rural Australia (mean age 67.33 years; 66% female), and six informal carers of such individuals (67.33 years; 83% female), participated in interviews exploring their lived and living experiences of rural older adult mental health. Results Four themes describing participant experiences were identified: ‘how perceived attitudes about mental health reduce help-seeking’, ‘the impact of social transparency in rural areas’, ‘the interconnected nature of physical and mental health in later life’, and ‘the contextual complexities in accessing timely and appropriate supports in rural areas’. Conclusion The identified themes highlight the personal and contextual complexity affecting access to mental health supports for older adults and informal carers in rural areas. These findings provide valuable lived experience insights to support the design and delivery of appropriate and accessible mental health supports that meet the needs of older rural Australians.

Details

Title: Learning from lived experience: rural older Australians' perspectives of mental health, wellbeing, and support
Authors: Daniel P. Wadsworth (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Nursing
Belinda Cash - Charles Sturt University
Kristy Robson - Charles Sturt University
Kristen Tulloch - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Psychology
Rebekah Couper - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Psychology
Sarah Kolesaric - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
Mia A. Schaumberg - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Biomedicine
Sally Fitzpatrick - University of New England
Publication details: Aging & Mental Health, Vol.29(11), pp.2086-2094
Publisher: Routledge
Date published: 2025
DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2025.2529269
ISSN: 1364-6915
PMID: 40618324
Copyright note: © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Grant note: This body of work is supported by internal grants from the University of the Sunshine Coast and Charles Sturt University. We also acknowledge the support of the Commonwealth-funded Manna Institute, in providing postdoctoral and research fellowship funding (DW, BC, MS), support (KR), and invaluable access to lived experience representatives (Paul Klotz) and industry providers (SF). Finally, we acknowledge support from Three Rivers Department of Rural Health (KR), which is funded by the Australian Government under the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) program.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Biomedicine; Healthy Ageing Research Cluster; School of Health - Nursing; Thompson Institute; Cancer Research Cluster; School of Health - Psychology; Student Services and Engagement
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991144502802621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Geriatrics & Gerontology; Gerontology; Psychiatry

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