Rural Victorians urged to join coronavirus mental health survey
Monash University researchers are calling on more rural Victorians to take part in a survey detailing their mental health during the coronavirus pandemic.
RURAL Victorians are being called on to participate in a national survey of mental health in the age of coronavirus.
The Monash School of Rural Health survey will examine the mental health consequences of a pandemic over the next 18 months.
Rural mental health specialist Dr Keith Sutton said the research would also show which resilience factors contributed to positive mental health.
“We’ll be asking what are the kinds of things that have helped people maintain their health and wellbeing, looking at how people have coped better than others, and how that changed as social distancing guidelines changed and in relation to different levels of employment,” he said.
“It will be able to inform how we react in the future. What are the kind of interventions to have in place before this occurs and what are the kinds of things that could be done while it is occurring”
Dr Sutton said there were many unknowns in how the general population, but more specifically rural Australians dealt with such a crisis.
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“We are all aware that people in country areas have been exposed to drought, fires and flood so it’s seeing whether there’s a difference based on that,” he said.
Researcher Dr Caroline Gurvich said the team wanted more input from residents of rural and regional areas, who made up about 30 per cent of Australia’s population.
“Many of these Australians face a range of challenges unique to living outside major cities. It is essential we learn about mental health outcomes in response to this COVID-19 pandemic for all Australians,” she said.
To participate in the survey, go to http://www.maprc.org.au/covid19-mental-health
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