Is My Rural Your Rural? The Importance of Lived Experience Voices in Rural Suicide Research
Tracks
Ballroom A - In Person Only
| Friday, November 11, 2022 |
| 9:50 AM - 10:10 AM |
Overview
Charlotte Finlayson, University of Sydney
Speaker
Ms Charlotte Finlayson
PhD Candidate
University of Sydney
Is My Rural Your Rural? The importance of Lived Experience Voices in Rural Suicide Research
Abstract
Aim: This presentation will explore the contested nature of rurality as it applies to research on suicide and help-seeking for suicidal distress in rural and remote Australia.
Background: The Commonwealth and State governments’ commitment to the Toward Zero Suicides strategy has brought suicidal distress into the centre of wide-ranging whole of systems reforms. Australian data indicates the rate of suicide increases the further away from major cities a place is, almost doubling in outer regional and remote areas (AIHW, 2021). Furthermore, data on the uptake of Medicare benefits scheme subsidised mental health service use shows service use is significantly lower in Rural and Remote areas (Australian Mental Health Commissions, 2018, p. 7), suggesting that people in rural and remote areas of Australia are less likely to use formal supports if they are experiencing distress. Research on suicide in rural areas is growing, but rarely addresses how conceptualisations of ‘rurality’ shape and constrain understandings of the lived experience of suicide.
Approach: Critical literature review as part of a phased qualitative study of lived experiences of help-seeking for suicide distress in rural and remote NSW.
Findings: The literature review found a lack of consistent definitions for “regional” or “rural”. Existing definitions include distance from major cities, type of primary industry, population density. Furthermore, cultural constructions of rurality as predominately white, farming communities, can lead to oversimplification and misunderstanding of the factors contributing to higher suicide rates and reduced help-seeking. This poses a barrier for understanding and addressing this issue.
Implications: This review points to the importance of participatory research with people in rural and remote areas with lived experience of suicide distress to inform meaningful and comprehensive understandings of help seeking in these locations and to challenge over-simplified or reductionist responses to experiences of suicidal distress in rural and remote NSW.
Background: The Commonwealth and State governments’ commitment to the Toward Zero Suicides strategy has brought suicidal distress into the centre of wide-ranging whole of systems reforms. Australian data indicates the rate of suicide increases the further away from major cities a place is, almost doubling in outer regional and remote areas (AIHW, 2021). Furthermore, data on the uptake of Medicare benefits scheme subsidised mental health service use shows service use is significantly lower in Rural and Remote areas (Australian Mental Health Commissions, 2018, p. 7), suggesting that people in rural and remote areas of Australia are less likely to use formal supports if they are experiencing distress. Research on suicide in rural areas is growing, but rarely addresses how conceptualisations of ‘rurality’ shape and constrain understandings of the lived experience of suicide.
Approach: Critical literature review as part of a phased qualitative study of lived experiences of help-seeking for suicide distress in rural and remote NSW.
Findings: The literature review found a lack of consistent definitions for “regional” or “rural”. Existing definitions include distance from major cities, type of primary industry, population density. Furthermore, cultural constructions of rurality as predominately white, farming communities, can lead to oversimplification and misunderstanding of the factors contributing to higher suicide rates and reduced help-seeking. This poses a barrier for understanding and addressing this issue.
Implications: This review points to the importance of participatory research with people in rural and remote areas with lived experience of suicide distress to inform meaningful and comprehensive understandings of help seeking in these locations and to challenge over-simplified or reductionist responses to experiences of suicidal distress in rural and remote NSW.
Biography
Charlotte is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker who lives and works in Griffith, NSW. She is studying her PhD on the topic of "Exploring Experiences of Help-Seeking for Suicidal Distress in Rural and Remote NSW: Lived Experience, Carer and Worker Perspectives". She is also a Local Project Officer in the Rural Mental Health Partnership project at the Peregrine centre which works to promote education and research in the mental health workforce in Rural NSW.
