Mental Health Care Provision for Rural Elders

Abstract

Rural mental health service resources and intervention approaches to meet the needs of rural elders are in a state of flux. Even within this fluctuation, some relatively stable and beneficial resources are available to rural elders and their families. This article identifies those resources within the context of the growing influence of managed behavioral health care. Systems of managed care are directing the types of mental health services available and their patterns of coordination with other health and social service resources used by rural elders.