RELATED: Health in the balance in Central Goldfields; Bendigo suburbs the ‘most disadvantaged’
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A number of health priority areas disproportionately affecting regional, rural and remote communities have been highlighted in a report released by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.
Key findings of the Medical Research and Rural Health Report 2015 include:
– The suicide rate is 66 per cent higher in the country than in major cities with 960,000 people living in regional, rural and remote areas experiencing a mental disorder in the previous 12 months.
– The rate of suicide among males aged between 15 and 29 who live outside major cities is twice as high as the general population and farmers are twice as likely to die through suicide as the general employed public.
– People living in regional, rural and remote areas make up 30 per cent of the population, but receive far less than 30 per cent of total health funding.
– They are more likely to be of low socioeconomic status than metropolitan residents with 39 per cent of those living in remote areas classified as such, compared to 24 per cent in regional areas and 17 per cent in major cities.
Specific conditions identified as priorities outside the major cities include asthma, cancer, cardiovascular health, diabetes, mental health, obesity, arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions.
St Luke’s Anglicare regional director Carolyn Wallace said the report underlined the discrepancies between social outcomes in regional and metropolitan areas.
“It’s quite significant that while 30 per cent of the population lives in rural and remote settings far less than 30 per cent of health and community services funding is spent in rural and remote settings,” she said.
“That’s really an issue about timely and appropriate access to services for people because we know the earlier the intervention with any health outcomes the better long-term health people will have.”
Ms Wallace said distance was also a major factor for people in areas outside Bendigo.
“There’s limited transport, there’s the cost of transport and there’s often accommodation costs associated with needing to access services in a bigger town or city,” she said.
“In a lot of specialist clinics they may only have monthly appointments even in Bendigo.
“Getting on a train is not a simple thing if you’ve got a disability, if you don’t have the train fare or you don’t have someone to meet you at the other end.”
The report also revealed that people living in rural and regional areas generally have higher levels of social cohesiveness, including higher rates of volunteer work and feelings of safety in their community.
But Ms Wallace said this often masked other issues.
“Rural and remote areas do have higher levels of social cohesion which is great but health outcomes are poorer because of poorer outcomes in the social determinations of health which are income, employment and education,” she said.
If you or someone you know is struggling call Lifeline on 13 11 14.