Disability Assignment 2022

Running head: DISABILITY
Disability
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note

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People living in rural and remote areas of Australia suffer greater health disparity because
of poor health and welfare outcomes compared to other population group. They have high rate of
chronic disease and poor access to health care services. One of the chronic issue facing
Australians living in remote region is the high rate of suicide in this population group. According
to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2017) report, the rate of suicide is 1.7 times higher
for people living in remote and very remote areas compared to those living in major cities. This
essays aims to identify the factor behind such difference in suicide rates in rural and remote
Australians and identify the impact of certain determinants of health factor on lives of people
living in remote communities The essay critically analyses health data to evaluate incidence
levels of suicide and discusses the role of one Australian health organization in taking steps to
address this disparity in the Australian population.
The burden of death due to suicide is a major public health burden for Australian rural
communities. The mortality rate in Australia has increased with remoteness. For example, the
mortality rate due remoteness was 1.3 times higher for people living in remote areas compared to
those living in major cities. The aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander group are the groups who
are most likely to live outside metropolitan areas and so difference in mortality in mortality rate
for this group has been found compared to non-indigenous Australians (Australian Institute of
Health and Welfare, 2017). In the year 2017, 165 deaths due to suicide was recorded for
indigenous Australian. In addition, the comparison of statistics related to suicide in indigenous
and non-indigenous population group revealed that intentional self-harm related death was
higher for indigenous Australians (5%) compared to non-indigenous Australians (2%)
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018). The above statistics shows how rural and remote

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communities of Australia are more exposed to risk of suicide and self intentional harm related
death compared to non-indigenous population group living in urban areas.
There are many structural and socioeconomic factors that is regarded as some of the
cause behind high suicide rates in Australian communities living in rural and remote areas.
Several structural factors like unemployment, poor access to mental health services and exposure
to traumatic or stressful life have been found to be the contributing factors behind poor mental
health and suicide risk in this group. For example, Australian people living in rural areas often
experience unique conditions that expose them to risk of mental health problems and suicide.
The problem is also compounded due to poor access to mental health service as many emergency
mental health problems remain unaddressed in the group further increasing the risk of suicide
(Thomas, Wakerman & Humphreys, 2015). McNamara et al. (2018) argues that indigenous
group mostly live in rural areas and they suffer from socioeconomic disadvantage due to
unemployment. It exposes them to multiple psychological stressors and poor access to culturally
appropriate care, poor overall health and suicides. Kim and Cho (2017) supports that
unemployed males higher risk of suicide compared to females as unemployment has tremendous
implications on anxiety, social exclusion, self-efficacy and well-being. Hence, it can be said that
multiple complex and interrelated factor heighten the risk of suicidal behaviour and self-harm in
communities living in urban and rural areas.
Rural and remote communities have poor access to health and social services and they
are more likely to be exposed to situations that place them at greater risk of suicide. As explained
by Helbich et al. (2017), one of the explanation for high risk of suicidal behaviour in rural and
remote areas include remoteness, less intimate contact with family and friends, social isolation
and increased risk of suicidal behaviour. The factors relating to high psychological distress is

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particularly high in indigenous Australians compared to non-indigenous Australians.
Psychological distress is high because of differences in socioeconomic status, social support and
functional limitation. People living in rural areas mostly have poor income and they often fail to
access health care service on time because of cost involved in long distance travel. McNamara et
al. (2018) gives the evidence that risk of mental illness is high for the group because of poor
health, fewer employment opportunities, housing stress and daily life stressors (National Rural
Health Alliance, 2017). Although people living in rural areas score better in life satisfaction
parameters, however the lack of mental health services in the region explains the reason behind
high suicide rate and delay in receiving services at the right time. There is a need for adequate
and equal resource distribution in rural and urban areas too to ensure that psychological stress
and mental health access related issues are adequately managed in remote areas of Australia.
One of the organization that is working to reduce suicide related disparities for people
living in rural and remote regions of Australia includes the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental
Health (CRRMH). The organization is committed to improving mental health outcome of rural
and remote communities. One of the strategies taken by the organization to prevent risk of
suicide includes developing the mental health system of the region to meet better needs of the
people living in rural and remote regions (Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health, 2017).
This strategy is likely to be successful because currently remote areas lack access to adequate
number of culturally appropriate mental health services. Hence, taking strategies to develop the
mental health system and increasing utilization of such services can reduce disparities in terms of
suicide related deaths for rural and remote Australian communities.
To conclude, the essay presented the issue of high and disproportionate rate of suicide in
people living in rural and remote regions of Australia compared to those living in metropolitan

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areas. The main factor identified behind such different in suicide rate included poor employment
opportunities, poor socioeconomic status, exposure to several psychological stressors, limited
access to health care services and barrier to access because of long travel distance. This implies
how several structural and socioeconomic determinants can affect health and well-being for rural
living people. Through critical analysis of several factors interrelated to risk of suicide, it can be
concluded that the Australian government should pay attention to distributing resources in the
rural areas too so that unemployment related disadvantages are addressed and people are better
able to cope with psychological life stressors. Good understanding of determinants of health for
suicide can also help health care professionals to link suicidal behaviour with social factors of
patient and provide appropriate interventions to patient.

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References:
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2018). 3303.0 - Causes of Death, Australia, 2017. Retrieved
from:
https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/3303.0~2017~Main
%20Features~Intentional%20self-harm%20in%20Aboriginal%20and%20Torres
%20Strait%20Islander%20people~10
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2017). Rural and Remote health. Retrieved from:
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/rural-health/rural-remote-health/contents/deaths-
remoteness
Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health (2017). Suicide & Suicide Prevention in Rural Areas
of Australia. Retrieved from: https://www.crrmh.com.au/content/uploads/Briefing-
Paper_FINAL_11052017.pdf
Helbich, M., Blueml, V., de Jong, T., Plener, P. L., Kwan, M. P., & Kapusta, N. D. (2017).
Urban–rural inequalities in suicide mortality: a comparison of urbanicity
indicators. International journal of health geographics, 16(1), 39.
Kim, C., & Cho, Y. (2017). Does unstable employment have an association with suicide rates
among the young?. International journal of environmental research and public
health, 14(5), 470.
McNamara, B. J., Banks, E., Gubhaju, L., Joshy, G., Williamson, A., Raphael, B., & Eades, S.
(2018). Factors relating to high psychological distress in Indigenous Australians and their

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contribution to Indigenous–non‐Indigenous disparities. Australian and New Zealand
journal of public health, 42(2), 145-152.
National Rural Health Alliance. (2017). MENTAL HEALTH IN RURAL AND REMOTE
AUSTRALIA. Retrieved from:
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bba0/af2633007a22ff88c51d89127ed2de82daa8.pdf
Thomas, S. L., Wakerman, J., & Humphreys, J. S. (2015). Ensuring equity of access to primary
health care in rural and remote Australia-what core services should be locally
available?. International journal for equity in health, 14(1), 111.