Helping rural and remote communities manage mental health

From Cyclone Yasi in the north to the unprecedented flooding in the south, the mental health and financial resources of Queenslanders have been severely stretched. Despite these natural disasters, communities across the state and throughout Australia have rallied to support each other in this time of crisis.

While the weather events of the past few weeks wreaked havoc and structural damage, quite often the underlying personal effects are not as easily recognised.

Too often the lingering after-effects of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods that can push rural communities to financial bankruptcy don’t surface for some time, testing a person’s mental health and willingness to go on.

Led by Dr Delwar Hossain, a team of researchers from the University of Southern Queensland’s (USQ) Centre for Rural and Remote Area Health (CRRAH), Rhealth, Centacare, QMDC, and the Rod Saal Trust are looking at how primary producers and rural communities recover from the devastating effects of natural disasters.

Funded by the Collaborative Partnership for Farming and Fishing Health and Safety Program and managed by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) the two stage project has already trialled three workshops to gauge how best help can be given.

'These workshops are really a fact finding exercise. Some communities bounce back quickly and within a short period of time have the wheels of their community back and running,' Dr Delwar Hossain said. “Others can take longer or never make it back at all.

'What is it that enables some communities to survive and move forward, and what steps could be initiated to help the capacity building of the rural and remote communities? We want to know the answers to these questions and help to implement initiatives that make communities more resilient to extreme weather events.'

Dr Hossain said while the workshops were part of the project’s investigative stage many people have used them to connect to programs that provide on-going assistance and to build an invaluable databank of local knowledge.

'Already we have received some very positive feedback from people who have attended the workshops. Ultimately our aim is to follow-up the workshops with initiatives that will make a real difference to these communities.

'We hope to provide a reference base that allows the public to effectively deal with mental health issues within their own communities and not having to look elsewhere,' Dr Hossain said.

'During the workshops we address, what has worked, where the gaps are and what can be done to improve on current practices.'

The team will hold workshops in Goondiwindi, Dirranbandi and St George from 7-9 March. For more information or to register for a workshop please contact Robyn Goddard on 46311859 or email Robyny.Goddard@usq.edu.au