# Growing pains: exploring residents’ mental health in a rapidly growing municipality—a qualitative study

## TL;DR

This study explores how rapid population growth in a Norwegian municipality affects residents' mental health and access to mental health services.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into mental health challenges and service accessibility in rapidly growing municipalities from both professional and user perspectives.

## Key findings

- Health services are not prepared for the complexity of residents' challenges.
- Residents face a higher threshold for accessing mental health services.
- Collaboration and navigation of services are not systematized.

## Abstract

Belonging to a community provides opportunities for engagement, social connectedness, and participation, which are important for mental health. Norwegian municipalities are responsible for safeguarding the mental health of their residents, but there are significant differences in the types of services they provide. Some municipalities are experiencing rapid growth, which may impact residents’ mental health and the accessibility of tailored mental health services. The aim of this study is to explore how a municipality’s rapid growth has affected residents’ mental health from both professionals’ and users’ perspectives.

Focus group interviews were carried out in two groups with 14 participants from different professions and user organizations from one rapidly growing municipality. The focus group interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

The analysis resulted in three categories: Preparedness for complex life challenges, Importance of having a social network, and Changed threshold for access to health services.

Health services are not sufficiently prepared to keep up with the complexity of challenges people are facing. No one is in charge, it is difficult to navigate the available services, and collaboration is not systematized. The threshold for getting mental health services has become higher.