Mental Health Issues Among Women in Australia

Running Head: MENTAL HEALTH 1
Health Promotion
Student Details
4/17/2019

Mental Health 2
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Mental Health Issues........................................................................................................................3
Women’s Mental Health..................................................................................................................4
Women’s Mental Health Determinants in Australia....................................................................6
Health Promotion Model.................................................................................................................7
Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan.................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10

Mental Health 3
Introduction
Good health and well being is mandatory for everyone as it ensures active participation of people
in education, communities, and employment opportunities as well as good health and well being
is important for a strong economy of a country. This report discusses the health and well being of
Victorian women. As compared to the national and international standards, Health and well
being of Victorians is high but status of health varies between areas and populations groups of
Victoria (Government, 2015). One major health issue as identified in Victorian Public Health
and Well Being Plan is mental health conditions of women in Australia and around the world.
Mental health is essential for the well being of individual and community in order to contribute
to the growth of social, economic, and cultural life of Victoria and ultimately of Australia. From
the data of Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008, it has been found that one out of five Victorians
are suffering from mental health issues (Government, 2015) and among them there are certain
population groups which are at higher risks of poor mental health conditions due to extended
exposure to unfavorable economic, social, and environmental circumstances. In Australia or
around the globe, mental illness is more in women in comparison to men. Disorders which are
related to mental illness among women are anxiety and depression (AWHN, 2015). It has been
observed that there is immediate and important need of gendered focus mental health reforms in
Australia to make effective improvements. This report will discuss about good mental health and
well being of women in Australia and Victoria.

Mental Health 4
Mental Health Issues
Mental health of a person refers to his/her behavioral, cognitive, and emotional wellbeing. Mental health
has huge impact on the daily lifestyle, physical health, and relationships of people. Mentally well person
is able to realize his/her abilities and able to handle and manage the stress of daily lives. The common
disorders which are result of mental illness are mood disorder, anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia
disorders. Anxiety disorder is the most common form of mental illness which results in severe fear in
person for certain situation and objects (Keyes & Lopez, 2009). According to the Geneva reports, one in
four people in the world are affected by neurological and mental disorders at some point in their lives.
There are around 450 million people all around the world are suffering from these conditions which are
causing disability and ill-health worldwide. However, treatments are available for mental illness treatment
but two-thirds of people do not seek help from healthcare professionals due to social shyness. Health
agency of United Nations have initiated several steps to break this viscous cycle and presented a report
entitled as “New Understanding, New Hope” in which agency urges help from governments to discover
solutions for mental health (Caplan, 2013). Report suggested governments to integrate the mental
healthcare into primary healthcare system.
According to the National Health Survey of ABS, there were around 4.8 million populations (20.1 per
cent) of Australia having mental and behavioral conditions in 2017-18. These results have shown increase
in data by 2.6%. One other survey conducted by Department of Health of Australia found that 14 per cent
of young people are suffering from mental disorders (WHE, 2013).
There are several factors which are contributing in the health and wellbeing of Victorians which includes
opportunities, experiences, and the environment in which people live, work, learn, and play. As compared
to the rest of Australia, Victorians are having greater wellbeing. Health status in Victoria varies according
to the Victorian population and geographic areas, and it is required to ensure elimination of inequalities in
order to improve health and well-being of Victorian people (Dillon, et al., 2013). Health inequality in