Supporting Families Using a Rural Paediatric Integrated Care Model

Abstract

Children in rural areas are 20% less likely to receive mental health and behavioral interventions than those living in urban areas (Lambert, Ziller, & Lenardson, 2009). This is largely due to isolated service providers and the families’ lack of resources. To underscore the struggles of parents, it has been reported that 29.4% of parents report that pediatric behavioral health care services are hard to access and difficult to coordinate, especially in rural environments (Bronheim, Thomas, & McKay, 2007). Rural families in Maryland struggle to access social and behavioral health care services due to stigma, transportation, provider shortages, and a lack of family education regarding the need for services. There is currently a lack of accessible integrated health care services available to support pediatric patients and their families in rural Maryland.