Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a primary care mental health service. Design: The study used a naturalistic longitudinal design to follow groups of participants who received intervention from a rural mental health worker, or 'usual' mental health service, or no treatment, over a period of 12 months. Setting: The service was evaluated in a rural primary care setting. Participants: One hundred and forty-five primary care patients. Outcome measures: Changes in symptomatology were assessed using the SCL-90R summary scales, and changes in quality of life were assessed using the EuroQOL. Results: Those participants treated by the primary mental health worker showed significant improvements in symptoms and quality of life compared to both the usual and no-treatment groups. Conclusion: There are few studies evaluating mental health services in rural settings. This study demonstrated that a particular model of primary mental health care was more effective than usual mental health care and no treatment at resolving symptoms and improving quality of life.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Medical and Health Sciences
Research Group:	Public Health and Health Services
Research Field:	Mental Health
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Specific Population Health (excl. Indigenous Health)
Objective Field:	Rural Health
Author:	Campbell, A (Mr Alistair Campbell)
ID Code:	37291
Year Published:	2005
Deposited By:	Centre for Rural Health
Deposited On:	2005-08-01
Last Modified:	2006-05-02
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