Unintentional Injury, Psychological Distress and Depressive Symptoms: Is There an Association for Rural Australians?

To investigate the association between unintentional injury and mental health in Australian rural communities.

This study supports the hypothesis that pre-existing depression is associated with unintentional injury in a rural sample and indicates the important role of prior depression in management of injury, given the high rate of injury in rural communities. Mechanisms by which prior depression increases likelihood of unintentional injury will be further investigated using longitudinal data.