Distress in older people with chronic illnesses is placing added strain on the rural health system, a new study suggests.

A Flinders University study looked at data from 5920 rural and regional patients aged 60 and over to understand how psychological distress affects use of the healthcare system.

The analysis revealed 13 per cent of patients reported moderate to high levels of distress, which was linked to greater use of health services, like visits to GPs and hospital emergency departments.

Suffering multiple chronic illnesses was also associated with higher levels of psychological distress, according to the study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Dr Vivian Isaac, a senior lecturer in rural mental health, said better understanding and management of older patients' mental state could ease demand on regional healthcare.

"There are gaps in the system, there's significant waiting time, and there's a workforce shortage," Dr Isaac told AAP.

"There's a need for more training to better attend to the needs of older people with psychological symptoms."

The research, which is part of a continuing PhD project, will now interview patients and healthcare workers to examine the causes of distress, including whether navigating the fractured system is a factor.

Federal and state rural health inquiries have heard evidence of hospital emergency departments operating without doctors, a severe shortage of GPs, and patients travelling long distances to receive care.

Dr Isaac said the research will also look into whether older people struggle to identify distress.

"Sometimes it's not easy for people to distinguish between psychological symptoms and stresses of daily life, so there's more to examine and understand."