The case study Health Inequalities in Rural Areas has been highly informative, however unfortunately and sadly, expected. I was allocated the topic of drug use, to research and explore, which came with horrible results. What I found as most shocking, and in turn most important, was how great and far the inequalities have become. The statistics of drug use in rural and remote areas has become far too extensive. Alcohol and methamphetamine in particular are ruining entire communities, killing people and creating generational and cyclical issues.

What I found as the second most pressing issue, was the incredible differences between urban and rural areas regarding this drug use. Cracks in the Ice explained that use of ice is 2.5 times higher in remote areas than urban areas (n.d. p.3). The depth of disparity shocked and appalled me, as I thought urban areas had higher rates of drug use, and assumed the imbalance wasn’t so great.

Thirdly, an important aspect for myself and studying this particular issue was my relation and connection to it. With countless family members living in rural and remote areas of New South Wales, and particularly on Aboriginal missions and reserves, I have seen first hand the devastating effects of drug use and addiction, and particular ice. I can put faces and stories to these statistics which furthers the importance in myself to understand thoroughly, the details, statistics and policy to hopefully one day as a social worker, impact some form of change, and lessen these inequalities of health in people of rural areas.

References

Cracks in the Ice 2019, How many people use ice?, pp.3, viewed 15 March 2019, https://cracksintheice.org.au/how-many-people-use-ice