Mental Distress in Rural Areas of Indonesia

Abstract

Background: There is a higher prevalence of mental distress in rural areas compared to urban areas in Indonesia. The rural areas of Indonesia have various socio-demographic and sophisticated cultural characteristics, but less exposed to foreign cultures. Thus, the study about the prevalence, associated factors, and predictors of mental distress in rural areas is necessary.Purpose: This study aimed to identify the population's status and related factors of mental distress in rural areas in Indonesia.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to achieve the aims of the study. An Indonesian version of the Self-Rated Questionnaire, consisting of 20 items, was used to measure mental distress status of population in rural areas in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A number of 872 records were included and analyzed using both univariate and bivariate analyses in this study.Results: The prevalence of mental distress in this population was 6%. The correlated factors of mental distress were age (χ2=6.93, p=0.01), gender (χ2=0.07, p=0.03), occupation (χ2=0.26, p=0.02), housing dimension (χ2=5.45, p=0.02), and illness status (χ2=0.01, p<0.01).Conclusion: The prevalence of mental distress in rural areas of Indonesia is relatively lower than that of the national level. Future mental health programs may be focused on improving mental health on the elderly, male, vulnerable workers, overcrowded housing, and people who got a chronic illness.

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

“…Sources of chronic stressors included a loss of cohesion in social networks, the death of family members, maintaining financial security, and managing pain/chronic health conditions (Behera et al, 2016;Gong et al, 2012;Howorth et al, 2019;Saifullah et al, 2020;Scogin et al, 2016;Silverstein et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2001;Williams et al, 2016;Zhang, Nazroo, & Vanhoutte, 2021;Zhang, Wang, & Xu 2021;Zhang & Silverstein, 2022;Zhou et al, 2019;Zhou et al, 2021). Workers in agriculture, a large industry consisting of primarily older persons, encounter multi-dimensional and pervasive stressors daily (House of Commons, 2019;Jones-Bitton et al, 2020;Lin & Chen, 2018;Roy et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2001;Yazd et al, 2019).…”

“…Yet, they also experience logistical barriers to social connections due to low broadband internet, transportation barriers, and diminished education opportunities (Abdul Manaf et al, 2016;Burnette et al, 2021;Carver et al, 2018;Hu et al, 2018;Liang et al, 2020;Lin & Chen, 2018;Slwinski et al, 2021;Zhang, Wang, & Xu , 2021;Zhou et al, 2021). These challenges to accessing social connection with community and religious organizations can lead to psychological distress and loneliness, and a risk of mental illness (Adjaye-Gbewonyo et al, 2019;Coleman et al, 2011;Fastame et al, 2022;Garabrant & Liu, 2021;Heron et al, 2021;Hu et al, 2018;Li et al, 2022;Luo et al, 2017;Ruan et al, 2022; Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care, 23(1) https://doi.org/10.14574/ojrnhc.v23i1.725 105 Saifullah et al, 2020;Scott et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2001;Windley & Scheidt;1983;Yiengprugsawan et al, 2012;Zhou et al, 2021).…”

Factors Affecting Sleep Problems in Preschoolers

“…This result is congruent with a study by Barazzetta and Ghislandi (2017), which concluded that family income influenced children's sleep problems, as well as by Bagley et al (2016) which showed that socioeconomic status was associated with more subjective complaints at night, more frequent waking at night, fatigue throughout the day and increased sleep disturbance and more pre-sleep worries. Occupation is also related to psychological distress in rural areas (Saifullah et al, 2020).…”