Geographical, economic, social and cultural barriers to accessing services in rural areas are widely reported. Less widely discussed are dilemmas posed by individual and community reluctance to address sensitive health issues. This article, focusing on the highly sensitive area of mental health, and employing a participatory action approach,…

Community Based Consultation, a consultation/education model appropriate for use in CMHC's and mental health departments is described. The model is being implemented by a Community Services Team of a rural mental health department. Appropriate strategies, a conceptualization of the community along power dimensions, a decision-making structure for…

The consultative effort to assist in the development of mental health services in Crystal City, Texas is described. Issues of political involvement, cultural and language issues, community dynamics, staffing, staff development, and training of psychology interns are discussed in light of the inadequacy of certain aspects of traditional…

A training curriculum on mental health and aging was developed and disseminated to 32 natural caregivers throughout a frontier state using a train-the-trainer model. Those certified as trainers included social workers, religious professionals, volunteers, long-term care employees, nurses, home health workers, and professional and informal…

The problem of occupational diseases must be addressed by social workers who are trained to actively work for changes on a social level. A training model is described, wherein graduate students organized a small community to combat and prevent Brown Lung Disease among textile workers. (DS)

Proceedings are presented from a 1980 conference on community based services for families of developmentaly disabled children. The following ten papers are included: "Leading Edge Services to Families of Persons with Developmental Disabilities" (R. Perske); "Family Resource Services and Support Systems for Families with Handicapped…

The distribution of health professionals, particularly physicians and dentists, has been especially critical for rural America. An effective lasting solution will depend not only on economic incentives but on the development of a health care delivery system that links providers to hospitals, decreases professional isolation, and utilizes physician…

Describes "program without walls" for developing community services in rural areas. Emphasizes importance of creative collaboration and redesign of traditional support programs to offer comprehensive community services tailored to needs of rural families and individuals. Suggests practical applications of "without walls" model. (Author/TES)

Notes the evolving definition of mental health "primary prevention," the future of which is currently jeopardized. Describes a study of the effectiveness of primary prevention in relieving some of the signs and symptoms of teacher burnout. Includes the format of a teacher inservice program which addresses teacher burnout. (SB)

The rural community mental health center tends to serve a large geographic area, have decentralized service delivery, require its professionals to function as generalists, and coordinate closely with other agencies. The last decade has seen an increasing strain placed on this pattern. As block grant and fee-for-service shifts resulting from the…

Five papers cover recent developments in rural mental health nursing. "Rural Mental Health Care: A Survey of the Research" (Karen Babich) chronicles recent interest in understanding the rural population's character and the nature of mental health services needed by and provided to rural America. Lauren Aaronson ("Using Health…

Summaries of 89 studies on rural health care (underway or recently completed) in the United States as of December 1976 are reported. Information on each study includes: title; principal researchers' names, addresses, and professions; major objectives of the research; methodology; findings (on completed research); financing organization; current…