Integrated Primary Care and Mental Health in Rural Communities: A Comprehensive Literature Review to Understand Barriers

This comprehensive literature review capstone project identifies structural barriers to integrating primary care and mental health services in rural areas. It examined reliable literature and validated research articles to determine challenges and barriers to the adoption and expansion of integrating primary care and mental health services in rural communities. The hypothesis of this work is that the issues of workforce shortages, financial constraints, technological limitations, and stigma in a society limits the development and viability of integrated healthcare models. These structural limitations must be addressed to address issues related to access to health care, costs and patient well-being. As it contributes to public health discourse, the study suggests sustainable strategies for overcoming barriers to care integration and fostering a more effective rural healthcare system.