ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some general background to the rural context in the UK before progressing to consider what people currently know about rural mental health and specifically that of rural men. It focuses on to look at how the issue of 'rural masculinities' might impact on rural men's mental well-being. Despite this rise in both men and women, rurality has a bigger impact on men's suicide than women's and the greatest risk of male suicide is in remote rural locations. Frequently, people who are already in financial hardship get further into poverty from the costs of buying, insuring and maintaining a vehicle. The quality of available transport is a major factor in whether urban-based care and support services are accessible to people who live in rural areas. Access to reliable, high quality information has a profound effect on mental health and well-being. Travellers face huge barriers in their access to health and related services, such as social care and education.
