Introduction
The concept chosen for this assignment is “rural” since it is of crucial importance for a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Its vitality owes to the fact that millions of rural communities’ inhabitants suffer from mental and other issues more than metropolitan area residents (Finley, 2020). Despite the accessibility of medical services in these areas, the quality of psychiatric care is low. Hence, this paper aims to establish the understanding of the concept of “rural.”
Discussion
There are several major approaches to defining the notion of “rural.” According to the U.S. Census Bureau (n. d.), rural is “any population, housing, or territory NOT in an urban area.” Blackey (1984) describes the same notion as having little urban surroundings, culture, and technological development. Based on the definitions, it can be claimed that the essential characteristics of the concept “rural” are agriculture, homogeneity, and simple life. In addition, these features are somewhat united – the residents of the rural areas are, for the most part poor, but hard-working people dealing with their farms. They all lead a simple life, live in non-luxury lodgings, have large families, and their days are not much different from each other. If the patient’s place of residence is not rural, then nothing is. The concluding definition of rural is isolated from the metropolitan area with a small population.
Summary
To conclude, in terms of nursing, the concept of “rural” is necessary for understanding the patient’s background and defining what might have caused an illness. As a rule, rural area residents are more exposed to the emergence of numerous conditions, specifically mental disorders. As a result, these residents might need more medical help due to technological underdevelopment and lack of education, healthcare, and other social services.
References
Blakely, E. (1984). Rural communities in an advanced industrial society: Dilemmas and opportunities. ERIC.
Finley, B. A. (2020). Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners meeting rural mental health challenges. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 26(1), 97–101. Web.
How does the US Census Bureau define “rural?” (n. d.). U.S. Census Bureau. Web.