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The evaluation of a model of primary mental health care in rural Tasmania
Author(s) -
Campbell Alistair
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
australian journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.48
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1584
pISSN - 1038-5282
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1854.2005.00694.x
Subject(s) - mental health , medicine , mental health service , quality of life (healthcare) , primary care , intervention (counseling) , primary health care , longitudinal study , rural area , gerontology , family medicine , nursing , psychiatry , environmental health , population , pathology
Abstact Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a primary care mental health service.Design: The study used a naturalistic longitudinal design to follow groups of participants who received intervention from a rural mental health worker, or ‘usual’ mental health service, or no treatment, over a period of 12 months.Setting: The service was evaluated in a rural primary care setting.Participants: One hundred and forty‐five primary care patients.Outcome measures: Changes in symptomatology were assessed using the SCL‐90R summary scales, and changes in quality of life were assessed using the EuroQOL.Results: Those participants treated by the primary mental health worker showed significant improvements in symptoms and quality of life compared to both the usual and no‐treatment groups.Conclusion: There are few studies evaluating mental health services in rural settings. This study demonstrated that a particular model of primary mental health care was more effective than usual mental health care and no treatment at resolving symptoms and improving quality of life.