title: Reducing the isolation of young adults living with a mental illness in rural Australia.
abstract: Research on mental health issues in rural Australia has been insufficient to date to guide nurses' clinical practice. This study explored young adults' experience of living with a mental illness in rural Western Australia using the grounded theory approach. Nine young adults, aged 18-30 years, identified isolation as their main concern. Isolation was brought about by society excluding participants because they had a mental illness and because of their behaviour. This isolation was further increased by the general population's lack of knowledge and understanding of what it is like to live with a mental illness. Based on the findings of this study, measures of how nurses can help reduce these young adults' isolation in a rural area are suggested.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Central West College of TAFE, Geraldton, WA, Australia. karola.mostafanejad@modnet.com.au
authors.forename: Karola
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mostafanejad
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D011287:Prejudice; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012424:Rural Population; D012934:Social Isolation; D012938:Social Perception; D012945:Social Values; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014904:Western Australia