Brief report: Impact of classroom presentations about health and help-seeking on rural Australian adolescents’ intentions to consult health care professionals

Abstract

Low rates of help seeking and poor access to health care for Australian adolescents areproblems particularly in rural areas (Booth et al., 2004). Adolescents indicate that they are notlikely to seek help for health concerns (Booth et al., 2004) and are particularly reluctant to seekprofessional help for mental health problems (Wilson, Deane, & Ciarrochi, 2005). Rural andsmall regional communities often have greater structural barriers such as limited numbers ofproviders and longer wait times which reduce access to health care professionals (Quine et al.,2003). However, there are also individual factors such as heightened concerns about anonymityand confidentiality, stronger ethos of self reliance and stoicism that may be barriers to helpseeking in rural settings (e.g., Quine et al., 2003).In order to improve access to primary health care, general practitioners in rural Australia reportwanting greater opportunities to consult and to promote their services to young people outside ofthe usual office consultation setting (Kang et al., 2003). They also want training in collaborativeapproaches and outreach strategies. In addition, youth health workers want improvedrelationships with other service providers such as GPs and especially with schools (Kang et al.,2003). Young people themselves say they prefer to see professionals that they know and trust(Booth et al., 2004).