The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted the National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing survey over 2020-2022 for the first time since 2007. The survey is nationally representative and collects data about Australians' mental health, service use, social connectedness, self-management preferences and so on. This secondary analysis of the data aimed to a) investigate what kinds of questions were being asked of participants, b) whether questions reflected rural strengths in line with the socioecological framework, and c) if answers varied depending on rurality.

We found that many questions focused on clinical personnel and self-management. However, many rural strengths from the socioecological framework were not represented including the natural environment, lay community members, and social networks. Mental health research lacks a focus on local strengths, assets and resources, which having an understanding of could enhance rural mental health care.

Three Key Learnings:

1. Bias in mental health research towards clinical supports.
2. Lack of data on rural strengths including access to nature and social connectedness.
3. Why it is important to focus on local assets and resources.