Answer To: Case Study – 40%Mental Health Week is a national event, held every October to coincide with World...
Vidya answered on Aug 17 2021
MENTAL HEALTH
INTRODUCTION:
A person’s behavioural, emotional and cognitive well-being accounts to his/her mental health. It is a major health concern worldwide as it affects a person’s physical health, daily living and also social relationships. On the other hand, this can also work vice versa. The mental health can be disrupted by the people’s lives, personal connections and other physio-social factors. The other conditions that can affect mental health and disrupt the routine of a person are stress, anxiety and depression.
If the mental health of a person is tried to be preserved, then we can achieve a balance between his/hers efforts to achieve psychological resilience, personal responsibilities and life activities because they are highly prevalent and persistent in nature. As per the statement produced by the WHO, mental health is not just the absence of mental disabilities and disorders, but it is something beyond that. They have also emphasised that preservation and restoration of mental health is a crucial part on the basis of an individual as well as in the community and social level all over the world.
MENTAL HEALTH STATUS OF AUSTRALIA
Epidemiological Status:
In Australia, the mental health issues are a major issue of concern in the public health domain. According to a recent study, mental illness accounts for 12% of the total disease burden in the country. Mong the major problems, 14.4% of the Australian population is affected by anxiety disorders and the depressive episode (or) dysthymia is experienced by 5.4%. 1.8% of the population had a 12-month prevalence of bipolar disorder. Most commonly treated psychotic illness among Australian population in 2010 was for schizophrenia, accounting for 0.45%. Despite these prevalence, the service access and its management are a major concern in the country.
The Major Social Stigma:
The stigma that surrounds the mental illness that occurs due to the misunderstandings, misrepresentations and misconceptions is a main issue in Australia which delays (or) prevents the affected people from seeking help, leading to an adverse impact on their lives. Hence, first these perceptions are to be challenged and people should be encouraged to have a positive approach to mental health.
If these people are provided with the right treatment and support, majority of them can lead a normal independent life contributing positively to the society.
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH COMMISSION
Keeping in view of the above statistics and the social stigma, the country recognised its urgent need to find a solution to help the people with mental illness. This gave rise to the Australian Government National Mental Health Commission.
This Commission was established on 1 January 2012 under the Public Service Act 1999. Under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, it acts as a non-corporate Commonwealth entity. Through the Health Portfolio, it is accountable to the Australian Parliament.
The main motto of the Commission is to promote understanding of the outcomes that effects and leads transformational changes across service systems for the people with mental illness. Their visionary aims to enable the Australian population to lead contributing lives in socially and economically thriving communities. The Commission focuses on monitoring and reporting on the investment in mental health and initiatives for suicide prevention and continuously works to improve Australia’s mental health and suicide prevention systems by acting as a catalyst by providing evidence based policy advice to the Government. So as to achieve the best possible mental health and wellbeing, they work across all the...