Workforce capacity for reducing rural disparities in public mental health services for adults with severe mental illness.

Abstract

The President's New Freedom Commission (2003) called for the elimination of service disparities in rural areas by addressing barriers in access, acceptability and availability. Barriers to accessibility include unemployment, poverty, inability to pay for services, inadequate insurance, transportation, and lack of knowledge of the need for and availability of care (Fortney et al., 2001; Merwin, Snyder, & Katz, 2006). Barriers to acceptability include stigma, confidentiality concerns, attitudes of self-reliance, and lack of cultural competence among providers (Willging, Waitzkin, & Nicdao, 2008). This article focuses on the third barrier--availability of services related to rural disparities in workforce capacity. General disparities between rural and urban workforce capacities are well documented (Fortney et al., 2001; Merwin, Snyder, & Katz, 2006; Ellis et al., 2009; Konrad et al., 2009; Thomas et al., 2009). Disparities between different rural and urban environments and the impact of these disparities on service planning and program development remain an issue. Language: en