Psychiatric Bulletin (1998) 22: 280-284. doi: 10.1192/pb.22.5.280
© 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Mental health in rural areas: experience in south Cambridgeshire
A. J. Smith, Senior Registrar and
R. Ramana, Consultant*
Box 35, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QQ
* Correspondence
Mental health morbidity is perceived as being predominantly urban based. Little is known about the health of the UK's rural residents. This paper summarises existing knowledge of rural health and social indicators. There is a relative dearth of information in this area making the application of urban-based (and biased) factors perhaps unreliable. Some rural areas have levels of deprivation similar to urban areas, even using urban-biased factors, though they encounter specific problems of service provision and accessibility. Currently, there seems to be no valid method of measuring rural deprivation and comparing it with urban deprivation. We highlight this inequality by describing discrepancies in day care provision between urban and rural areas.
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists.