Too far from care? A descriptive analysis of young Australian mental health aeromedical retrievals

Objectives

Young Australians living in rural and remote locations have poorer mental health outcomes and higher rates of self-harm and suicide than their major city counterparts. Significant service gaps and barriers exist in accessing general and youth-specific mental health services. With a lack of access, comes delays in treatment and associated poorer outcomes. This paper describes the characteristics of young people requiring an aeromedical retrieval (AR) for acute inpatient psychiatric care.

Study design and methods

A retrospective secondary analysis was conducted of Royal Flying Doctor Service ARs for a six-year period from 2016 to 2021. Data were summarised by demographic, geographic, and diagnostic factors.

Results

The total sample size was 1534 (60% male, 40% female; and 31% aged 12–17 years, 69% aged 18–24 years), with 668 (43.5%) affected by schizophrenia and related disorders. Port Augusta, 300 km north of Adelaide, had the highest proportion of aeromedical retrievals (4.4%). The Women's and Children's Hospital in Adelaide received the highest proportion of retrievals (25.6%). Statistically significant gender and age differences were identified as were specific high-usage geographical locations across several Australian states.

Conclusions

AR is essential for young people in accessing specialist acute health services. Developmentally appropriate, responsive, youth mental health services are mostly located in large, already well-resourced major cities. Our study provides valuable information to assist governments, communities, and services to enhance the resources available for young people who live rurally.