Access to primary care can encourage preventive health care and improve health outcomes. Many rural areas of North Carolina lack adequate access to medical professionals, including those providing primary care and secondary care.

Rural communities such as Cherokee County also often struggle with access to mental health and substance use programs and services.  Lack of providers and transportation in the community are barriers to access for care. People, including children and adolescents, with untreated mental health disorders are at high risk for many unhealthy and unsafe behaviors, including alcohol or drug abuse, violent or self-destructive behavior, and suicide. Mental health disorders also have a serious impact on physical health and are associated with the prevalence, progression, and outcome of some of today’s most pressing chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Mental health disorders can have harmful and long-lasting effects—including high psychosocial and economic costs—not only for people living with the disorder, but also for their families, schools, workplaces, and communities. 

Substance use and abuse are health issues which often are major contributors to death and disability.  People who suffer from abuse or dependence are at risk for premature death, injuries, and disability.  In addition, substance use and misuse can have adverse consequences for families and communities. Having a substance use disorder affects an individual’s relationships with family and friends, ability to attend school or work, their overall physical and mental health, and may lead to problems with the legal system. 

Mental health and physical health are closely connected.  Mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, affect people’s ability to participate in health promoting behaviors.  In turn, problems with physical health, such as chronic diseases, can have a serious impact on mental health and decrease a person’s ability to participate in treatment and recovery.  Access to comprehensive, quality health care services is important for the achievement of health equity and for increasing the quality of a healthy life for everyone. 

Source: Healthy People 2030 and Healthy NC 2030