Dicle BÜYÜKTAŞKIN, Ahmet ÖZASLAN, Hivda YILDIRIM, Sandi Salem ELNENAY, Esra GÜNEY, Elvan İŞERİ
Archives of Current Medical Research - 2026;7(3):680-688
Background: Regional disparities between rural and urban environments significantly impact access to pediatric mental health services. While environmental factors influence childhood psychological well-being, the gap in service utilization and clinical characteristics between these two settings remains under-researched. Methods: This study compared clinical and demographic profiles of pediatric patients across rural and urban sites (n = 203). Statistical analyses, including Chi-square and t-tests, were utilized to identify significant differences in psychiatric history, medication use, and diagnostic distributions. Results: Analysis revealed no significant differences in sex distribution (p=.218) or mean age between rural (M=106.40 months) and urban (M=113.98 months) groups (p =.292). However, profound disparities were observed in healthcare utilization: urban patients were significantly more likely to have had prior psychiatric consultations (87.5% vs. 16.8%, p<.001) and were prescribed psychiatric medications at a substantially higher rate (50.0% vs. 12.1%, p<.001). Furthermore, significant differences emerged in presenting complaints (p<.001), clinical diagnoses (p<.001), and special needs (p<.001). Conclusion: The findings underscore a critical gap in psychiatric care accessibility, with rural populations showing markedly lower rates of prior consultation and pharmacological intervention. These results suggest that rural patients may only access specialized care at later or more acute stages of illness. To achieve health equity, it is essential to incentivize rural medical assignments, modernize infrastructure, and integrate mental health literacy into school curricula and primary care training.
