Mental Health Issues: A Public Health Report for Australia

This report addresses mental health as a significant public health concern in Australia. It highlights the prevalence of mental illness, affecting approximately 4.8 million Australians, with anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders being the most common. The report details the impact of mental health issues on individuals, families, and society, noting the increasing rates of mental health disorders and the gaps in the current mental health system. It presents data on mental health issues in adults and youth, including regional disparities, with a focus on the increased risk in rural and remote areas. The report justifies the need for Australia to consider mental health a national priority, emphasizing the importance of early identification and intervention to mitigate the associated risks. The report references key sources such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian Government, Mental Health Australia, and the Parliament of Australia to support its findings.

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Public Health Condition in Australia

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Mental Health as a public health concern
Mental illness, or mental disorders are one of the major public health concerns in Australia.
Since issues with mental health issues are extremely common in Australian population, one in
every five Australians which means about 4.8 million people suffer from mental health issues as
in surveyed in the year 2017-18. The most prevalent mental health conditions are anxiety,
depression and substance use disorders (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018).
The impact of mental health issues
Australia has been facing the risk of mental health disorders and its associated risks from a
prolonged period of time. It has been observed that 20% of adults and 14% of children and
young people are likely to experience mental illness in any given year (Australian Government,
2018a). The issues related to mental health not only affects individuals, families and carers, but
has influenced the society as a whole. The increasing numbers of Mental Health issues indicate
that nearly half of Australians experience issues related to mental illness. Mental health illness
can range from mild disorders prolonged illness that may lead to serious disability. The impact of
Mental Health issues can affect people's behavior, thoughts and their perception of the world
around them. Untreated and prolonged mental illness can increase the risk of distress by
affecting the person's ability to function in their daily lives (Australian Government, 2018b). The
current mental health system in Australia is characterized by gaps in services which requires
adequate funding for number of Mental Health programs to support the issue.
Figure 1: Mental health issues scenario

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Source: (Mental Health Australia, 2018)
Mental health issues in adults and youth
The National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing of 2007 has identified that 45% adults
between the age 16 to 85 means nearly 8.6 million people experience common mental health
issues (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018b). Anxiety disorders contribute to a common type
of mental illness which has engulfed about 14.4% of Australian adults. The immediate effects
such as depression and use of alcohol and tobacco have taken a toll Australians in the last few
years. Young people are more prone to mental illness leading to 13.9% young people between
the ages 4 to 17 facing the issue. Since the first National Child and Adolescent survey of Mental
Health and Wellbeing was conducted has shown a rise in prevalence of major depressive
disorders among young people. Approximately 47% of the population has been diagnosed with
Schizophrenia and other psychotic illness were people below the age of 25 suffered more.
Mental health issues have contributed to the burden of disease in Australia leading to issues like
Comorbid illness impacting least one adult out of 11.7% of adults facing mental disorders.
Figure 2: Mental Health issues in Australians
Source: (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018b)

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Mental health as per region
Majority of mental health disorders have been prevalent within Australians living in rural and
remote areas experience the same rate of issues as people living in cities. The shows the
inadequate social and emotional well-being programs for mental health patients in Australia.
This has led to majority of death from suicide and self-harm injuries among people between ages
0-74 years in remote areas of Australia. As per the observations, the Aboriginals are likely to die
from mental illness 1.2 times than non-indigenous Australians (Parliament of Australia, 2018).
Due to low rates of access to mental health facilities, people living in the remote areas forecast
high rate of suicide.
Figure 3: Common issues of death due to mental illness
Source: (Parliament of Australia, 2018)
Justification
Mental health is the most prevalent issues affecting more than 4 million people of the entire
population in Australia. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, mental
health issues strongly influence psychotic disorders, depression and alcohol use among adults
and young people. The conditions among people have worsened due to drinking alcohol and

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smoking tobacco contributing to high risks of chronic conditions in Australia. Since mental
disorders do not come with warning signs, it is important for people to identifying underlying
symptoms. Therefore it can be justify that Australia should consider mental health issues as a
national concern and accordingly provide interventions to minimize the risk associated with this
condition.

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Reference List
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018a. National Health Survey: First Results, 2017-18. [online]
Available at: <http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4364.0.55.001> [Accessed 10 April
2019]
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018b. National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing:
Summary of Results, 2007. [online] Available at:
<http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4326.0Main+Features32007?
OpenDocument> [Accessed 10 April 2019]
Australian Government, 2018. Mental health services in brief 2018. [online] Available at: <
https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/0e102c2f-694b-4949-84fb-e5db1c941a58/aihw-hse-
211.pdf.aspx?inline=true> [Accessed 10 April 2019]
Australian Government, 2018b. AIHW media releases. [online] Available at:
<https://www.aihw.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/2018/june/our-health-report-card-is-in-
and-here-s-what-we-ca> [Accessed 10 April 2019]
Mental Health Australia, 2018. Australia’s Mental and Physical Health Report Card. [online]
Available at: <https://1010.org.au/news/australias-mental-and-physical-health-report-card/>
[Accessed 10 April 2019]
Parliament of Australia, 2018. Accessibility and quality of mental health services in rural and
remote Australia. [online] Available at:
<https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/
MentalHealthServices/Report> [Accessed 10 April 2019]