The role of district nurses in caring for people with mental health problems who live in rural settings.

District Nurses in rural areas frequently fulfil, in some permutation, the functions of district nursing, health visiting, school nursing, and community midwifery. This complex role can bring them into contact with a wide range of mental health problems. The extent, nature and type of mental health problems, and their response to these problems, is not well documented in the literature. The findings of this qualitative study indicate that District Nurses do in fact have contact with a wide range of mental health problems. The role of District Nurses in caring for this client group is more substantial than has been previously recognized. It is suggested that this role be formally acknowledged and that systems put in place to optimize the effectiveness of District Nursing interventions.