Mental Health In Australia

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA
MENTAL HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA
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Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Discussion:.......................................................................................................................................2
National health priority and impact of social determinants of the health:.......................................2
1. Income and Social Status:.....................................................................................................3
2. Social Support Networks:.....................................................................................................3
3. Education and literacy:.........................................................................................................4
4. Working Conditions:.............................................................................................................4
5. Physical Environments:.........................................................................................................5
6. Personal Health Practices and Coping Skills:.....................................................................5
Health promotion:............................................................................................................................5
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction:
With the global burden of disease, the indigenous Australian population have a markedly
higher burden of the disease as well as injury compared to the non-indigenous population. Most
of these burdens are significantly contributed to higher rates of mental health diseases. The
Australian government department of health suggested that 67% of Indigenous individuals in
Australia aged 15–24 psychological distress such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress
disorders (Stone & Waldron, 2019). The social determinants of health play a fundamental role in
subjecting the population high psychological distress. Balaratnasingam and Janca (2017),
highlighted that the majority of the indigenous population are homeless and experience lack of
employment which attributed to high mental health issues. This paper aims to critically discuss
mental health as an Australian Health Care System’s national health priority areas, how social
determinants of health impacted the health and wellbeing and one current health promotion that
addresses the issues in following paragraphs.
Discussion:
National health priority and impact of social determinants of the health:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health incorporate a range of mental illness
conditions that significantly attributed to their poor mental health and higher suicide rates
compared to the population belong to the non-indigenous counterpart of Australia.
Approximately two-thirds of Aboriginal individuals in Australian had a health condition where
29% of the population reported to be diagnosed with a mental health condition (25% of males as
well as 34% of females) (Www.aihw.gov.au, 2018). Consequently, the world health organization

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suggested that 2866 people committed suicide in Australia in 2016 where the majority of them
were adolescents or young adults. Therefore, reducing suicide and mental Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples is now a community priority for all Australian governments. However,
many researchers highlighted that social determinants play a crucial role in the high rate of
mental health issues amongst the aboriginal population. The impact of social determinants on the
development of mental health is the following:
1. Income and Social Status:
Young et al. (2017), highlighted a strong correlation between lower economic status and
mental health issues amongst the aboriginal population. In 2016, approximately 2 out of 5
individuals aged between 15 to 40 years were fully engaged in the work or full-time study which
further contributed to high mental health issues (Www.aihw.gov.au, 2018). The underlying
reason is that lack of income and affordability of necessary resources subjected patients to high
psychological distress such as anxiety and depression (Campbell et al., 2016). Due to living in
the low sociodemographic area and low income, the population are less likely to have the ability
to access the health care and social services compared to the aboriginal population that further
contributed to high substance abuse, mood disorders followed by high suicidal rates.
2. Social Support Networks:
Young et al. (2017), highlighted that lack of social support networks directly contributed
to the mental health issues amongst the aboriginal population. Majority of the indigenous
population have little to no access to the proper housing and health care services to mitigate
possible health risks. In 2016, approximately 4% of Indigenous individuals of Australia aged 10–
24 were classified as homeless and the majority of the population have limited access to the
health care services, due to issues with transportation and demography (Www.aihw.gov.au,