S.TRUEMAN PhD THESIS 2016

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3.2 Article: Australian Rural And Remote Generalist Nurses Caring for Mental Health Clients: An Integrative Review 3.2.1 Keywords Generalist nurses, mental health clients, rural and remote, Australia, mental health education. 3.2.2 Introduction The demand for mental healthcare in Australia is enormous. Estimates suggest that 7.3 million Australians (45% of the population) will experience a mental disorder during their lifetime (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007). Each year, 20% of the population (equating to 3 million Australians) will experience symptoms of a mental disorder (Department of Health and Ageing, 2009). These same percentages apply to the 2,047,432 Australians living in rural areas and the 525,020 people living in remote areas of Australia. Accordingly, some 514,409 mental health episodes in rural and remote Australia must be managed by a nursing workforce of only 30,340 (AIHW, 2011c). Despite the generality of the statement that the vast majority of people with a mental health issue will consult, and are managed by a GP (Department of Health and Ageing, 2009), this is not true in rural and remote communities. Apart from nurses, the ratio of health professionals relative to population diminishes in communities the farther away from major cities they are located. Hence in ‘remote’ areas, the GP to population ratio only slightly exceeds half of that in cities, and is less than one-fifth for medical specialists. The consequences of this lack of medical presence is borne by the nursing profession, which ensures their indispensability in providing mental health services in rural and remote Australia (Aoun & Johnson, 2002).