Other Mental Health on this site
Improving Communication between Clinical Psychologists and Primary Care Physicians Journal of Rural Mental Health article or try this one:
Journal of Rural Community Psychology article on Mental Health Referrals
Linking Training Between Mental Health and Primary Care http://www.apa.org/ed/samhsa.pdf
RuralPsych - the Rural Group of the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association Practice Directorate: Rural Health in America
Other resources and publications about integrating mental health, rural managed care and mental health at http://www.muskie.usm.maine.edu/research/ruralheal/ You might have to do some searching but they have done lots of work in rural plus mental, long term care, etc.
If you need a link to show that the problem is just as apparent in other countries as it is in Appalachia - http://www.ruralhealth.org.au/fairshare.htm
Recent report about mental health providers by Nat Ins of Mental Health and Fed Office of Rural Health Policy
http://www.mentalhealth.org/publications/allpubs/SMA98-3166/SMA98-3166.htm
Some telemedicine and other approaches on
http://www.racgp.org.au/resource/awareness/rural.htm
Care of the elderly – Journal of Rural Community Health
http://www.marshall.edu/jrcp/Archives/vol22/22akirch.htm
Sharing Help Awareness United Network http://www.fmctc.com/gallery/shaun/ SHAUN provides peer support and professional counseling to farmers, farm workers and their families who experience death or disability.
Rural Mental Health Links page
http://www.fmctc.com/gallery/shaun/agri-collab.html
National Association for Rural Mental Health at http://narmh.org/ Lots of resources to explore.
Dennis Mohatt and Peter Beeson are national sources to search for more articles and information. An interesting comparison history with NARME also.