Coggan, Charles A. (2019) Barriers to Older Australian Adults Accessing Telepsychology Services. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
The prevalence of mental health disorders reduces as we age, however the older Australian population is expected to rise sharply, and mental health issues are expected to increase significantly. Older Australian adults are a group that underutilizes mental health services and often do not seek help when required. Differences exist in the way that older Australian urban and rural residents, access and define health. Urban residents are more likely to take proactive and aggressive measures to maintain life, whereas rural residents are more likely to accept death as a part of life and are more stoic; often denying or delaying treatment, seeking help only when the ability to work and function independently is affected. One common theme that occurs within both cohorts is the desire to retain personal independence. This research surveyed 35 older Australian adults aged 50 years and above in both remote (n = 12) and regional (n = 23) areas to determine what barriers are preventing the elderly from accessing necessary mental health services online in the form of telepsychology. Previous research has indicated many structural and attitudinal barriers to accessing services, particularly in remote areas. The available research focusing on the older Australian population is limited, lacks empirical evidence and is mostly out-of-date. This research will provide new empirical evidence to the studies that exist on this topic within Australia and provide insight into how most effectively to overcome potential barriers to accessing telepsychology for health service providers.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Bob Knight |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Aug 2025 03:53 |
| Last Modified: | 27 Aug 2025 03:53 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | telepsychology; rural; regional; urban; elderly attitudes; Australia; mental health; barriers; older adults; videoconference; telehealth; technology |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52214 |
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