Abstract
This paper-part of a national study of community mental health worker role activism-compares community mental health centers with their counterparts in other geographic areas. Rural workers were most likely to view their centers as being most like social agencies. Their encorsement of community mental health ideology was also significantly higher. Role was measured from two perspectives: organizational and personal. Again, staff at rural community mental health centers were significantly different: They endorsed the highest levels of both organizational and personal activism and showed the least discrepancy between the two. It is concluded that rural community mental health centers and their staff represent an important and unique response to the problem of community mental health services delivery.
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An expanded version of a paper presented to the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Country Life Association, July 1974, Kalamazoo, Michigan. We are most grateful for the continuing help and suggestions of Miss Dorothea Dolan, Rural Mental Health Specialist, Mental Health Services Development Branch, NIMH. This paper is part of the study. “Emerging Roles of Community Mental Health Workers,” funded by grant MH18958 from the National Institute of Mental Health.
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Jones, J.D., Wagenfeld, M.O. & Robin, S.S. A profile of the rural community mental health center. Community Ment Health J 12, 176–181 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01411388
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01411388