Using Data Bricolage and Mixed-Methods GIS to Uncover Mental Health Service Gaps in Rural Australia

Abstract

This article develops an approach to data bricolage by mixed-methods geographic information systems (GIS) to challenge assumptions that quantitative service provision data and consumer surveys are the only sources of data that can inform gaps in service accessibility. Claims of repurposing health data have long animated health geography, but methodological advances have only recently begun to open opportunities for geographical analyses of reused secondary data. In this study, we developed novel mixed-method GIS approaches to sourcing and integrating (i.e., bricolage) geolocated health consumer information produced in online mental health forums. Although digital methods have been used for some time to gather and analyze social media and other online health data, we emphasize the process of partnering with mental health organizations to generate new knowledge about place-based lived experiences that can be used to improve service provision. Using rural Australia as a case study, we geospatially analyzed qualitative lived experience data produced in online mental health forums to better understand rural peoples’ service access challenges. In doing so, we found that it is feasible to bricolage secondary reused sources of qualitative lived experience data describing rural experiences in place.