Rural American & International Mental Health

Here are some things that were discussed/mentioned in my Mental Health Policy class this morning, which I find interesting:

- Rural America makes up 90% of our nation’s landmass and is home to 25% of the U.S. population.

- There are higher rates alcohol and drug use among residents of rural American communities (Go figure: nothing to do = getting wasted).

- Since persons often do not want others to know they have a mental illness, it is sometimes harder for persons of rural communities to make themselves get treatment – fearing that, in a smaller community, people might find out their “secret.” Thus, by the time they do seek help, their illness has often progressed very far into its course and can be very expensive to treat.

- More than 1/4 of the U.S. adult population is suffering from a mental or addictive disorder within any given year. (This was actually from an earlier class session)

- Across the world there is a great lack of psychiatrists, medications, and care. For instance, in Ethiopia there are: 70 million people; 1 psychiatric hospital; and just 11 psychiatrists. Imagine – only 11 psychiatrists for 70 million people.

- There are 250 million severely mentally ill people throughout the world on any given day.

- WHO’s Millineum Developmental Goals (the U.S. didn’t sign these because of the very last two goals since, as my professor stated, “The U.S. is not proactive but will do something if there’s an economic gain"):

1. Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
2. Achieve Universal Primary Education
3. Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
4. Reduce Child Mortality
5. Improve Maternal Health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and other Diseases
7. Ensure Environmental Sustainability
8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development