A systematic review of rural community-based mental health interventions in the United States

Abstract

Background Mental health impacts a person’s quality of life and ability to engage in healthy behaviors. Rural communities in the United States have limited access to mental and behavioral health treatment. Aim To conduct a systematic review to identify existing rural community-based mental health interventions and identify commonalities and differences by extracting study attributes and intervention components. Methods March 2022 CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycInfo, Scopus, and Academic Search Complete were searched for studies that met the inclusion criteria of rural, community-based mental health interventions in the United States. Results Ten publications satisfied the criteria for this review. The most common intervention components identified were peer interaction, developed coping skills, and activity-based interventions. Conclusion While this review excluded a meta-analysis, it did illuminate the components of existing community-based mental health interventions and highlighted gaps in the current research. Our findings suggest that future community-based mental health interventions would benefit from the inclusion of peer interaction, coping skills development, activity-based, cultural & historical context, service referral, and spirituality.