Urban vs. rural differences in psychiatric diagnoses, symptom severity, and functioning in a psychiatric sample.
Lauren N ForrestDaniel A WaschbuschAmanda M PearlEdward O BixlerLawrence I SinowayJennifer L KraschnewskiDuanping LiaoErika F H SaundersPublished in: PloS one (2023)
People living in urban and rural municipalities have a similar need for mental health treatment. Access to care may be one explanatory factor for the occasional rural-urban differences in rates of psychiatric disorders. In other words, if people living in rural areas can access care, their symptom presentations appear unlikely to differ from those of people living in urban areas.