Strength and Vulnerability of Mental Illness in Older Persons within the Rural Context

Authors

Abstract

Purpose: In this paper we analyzed the complex issue of mental illness in older persons living in rural areas using the Strength and Vulnerability Integration (SAVI) model as a conceptual framework to bring balance to negative accounts of older persons’ emotional experiences.

Method: A narrative review was conducted to examine the mental health issues of older persons living in rural areas. Three databases were searched for data pertaining to rural mental health and the SAVI model. Theoretical and empirical articles that analyzed the strengths and vulnerabilities in relation to mental illness in older persons living in rural areas were included and analyzed. Additionally, policy and position papers were used to interrogate this issue.

Findings: Analysis revealed three themes: individual vulnerabilities, system vulnerabilities and strengths. Rural individuals’ struggles with chronic stress, a loss of social belonging, and neurological dysregulation across their lifespans were discussed in how they developed strengths in ageing and overcame vulnerabilities. Barriers to accessing mental health services, caregiving respite care, and health promotional services in rural areas included system vulnerabilities that exacerbated the rates of mental illness and poor health outcomes in older persons. Strengths included the rural social connection and community engagement that fostered a sense of community.

Conclusions: Research and practice recommendations situated within the SAVI model include the importance of acknowledging individual differences viewing the strengths of ageing, cultural perceptions of time and leveraging community-based strengths to overcome vulnerabilities of ageing in rural areas. These changes will facilitate nurses and other health care providers assess, respond to, and prevent mental illness and poor health outcomes in the diverse ageing population living in rural areas.

Keywords: mental illness, rural areas, older persons, Strength and Vulnerability Integration model, ageing population
DOI:  https://doi.org/10.14574/ojrnhc.v23i1.725

Author Biographies

  • Jessica Katerenchuk, RN, MN, University of Alberta

    Research Assistant, Faculty of Nursing

  • Sherry Dahlke, PhD, RN, GNC(C), University of Alberta

    Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing

Downloads

Published

2023-05-09

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 1 (2023): Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care, 23(1)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share (for non-commerical purposes) the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).