Poor access to mental healthcare prompts increased behavioral health emergencies and greater costs of care.
Rural communities face enough challenges with access to basic medical care. Accessing behavioral health has become increasingly difficult for every population, yet those in rural areas face obstacles of grand proportions.
Data doesn’t lie, and there’s new information to validate the scope of behavioral health treatment gaps across rural America. Mental Health America released its 2020 rankings, using 15 measures that encompassed treatment quality for children, youth, and adults with:
Also explored were students identified with emotional disturbance for an individualized education program, and mental health workforce availability (true provider deserts).
States with high percentages of rural populations ranked in the bottom 10 of the rankings:
Poor access to mental healthcare prompts increased behavioral health emergencies, hospitalizations, and greater costs of care for any organization.
On another front, a second new report, Growing Stress on the Farm: The Expanding Economic Mental Health Disparities in Rural Missouri, was published by entities around the state, including the Missouri Coalition of Behavioral Health, Department of Mental Health, Farm Bureau, Hospital Association, and University of Missouri extension. Dismal realities were highlighted, including:
The report provides information on the signs and symptoms of depression and suicide, and what to do, with key resources. The stigma associated with behavioral health is evident through the data, with a mandate for action necessary.
Programming Note: Listen to Ellen Fink-Samnick’s live reporting on the State of the Social Determinants weekly on Monitor Mondays, 10-10:30 a.m. EST.
In a sweeping policy shift, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed significant rollbacks to Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and equity-related
EDITOR’S NOTE: On the morning of Jan. 22, major American news outlets were reporting the story of a huge artificial intelligence (AI) technology partnership. The
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