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Overview Mental illness is a major health issue facing Australia today Why more research is needed Some examples of ARH-supported research that have made a practical difference

Mental Illness is a Major Health Issue Facing Australia Today One in five Australians will suffer from some form of common mental illness in any year Depressive disorder 6% Anxiety disorder 14% Substance use disorder 5% Any mental illness 20%

An additional 2% will suffer from a psychotic disorder like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

Mental Illnesses Are Very Disabling “Disability” refers to the effect of a health problem on the person’s ability to work or study, and participate in their family and community The disability of mental illnesses is not visible However, mental illnesses can be more disabling than many physical illnesses

The disability produced by moderate depression is similar to the disability from relapsing MS, severe asthma, chronic hepatitis B or deafness Severe post-traumatic stress disorder disability is comparable to disability from paraplegia Severe schizophrenia is comparable to quadriplegia

Mental Illness is One of Australia’s Biggest Health Problems Mental illnesses are a small cause of mortality, but a big cause of disability They often begin when a person is young and may have an impact across the person’s life Mental illnesses rank third as a source of disease burden in Australia

Disease Burden in Australia 2003

The Need for Research Mental illness research is under-funded Mental illness contributes 19% of disease burden, but gets 9% of NHMRC funding Around 23% of NHMRC applications are funded ARH is the biggest non-government supporter of mental illness research

Australian Rotary Health Research Can Make a Practical Difference: 3 Examples Media reporting of suicide On-line therapy for anxiety disorders Mental health first aid guidelines

Media Reporting of Suicide Irresponsible media reporting can lead to spikes in suicide. This was first observed in the 18th Century.

Australian Rotary Health Funded Project In 2002, Prof Jane Pirkis was funded to look at the effects of media reports of suicide and the number of suicides in the region immediately afterwards

Media Reports and Suicide in Australia Around a third of media reports were followed by an increase in suicide Aspects of the media reports that led to an increase in suicide: Occurred together with several media reports of suicide About completed suicide rather than suicidal attempts or suicidal thoughts Broadcast on TV rather than other media

Impact of the Findings The Australian government produced new guidelines on responsible media reporting of suicide. Reporting of suicide has been found to improve since the release of these guidelines.

On-Line Therapy for Anxiety Disorders Anxiety disorders are very common, but under-treated (only 38% get professional help). Effective treatments do exist, but we need to make them more readily available. The internet provides a cheap, easily accessible and anonymous means of providing treatment.

ARH Funded-Projects From 2001-2003 ARH funded Jeff Richards to research two on-line treatments: Panic Online and PTSD Online. These were found to work as well as face-to-face therapy.

Impact of the Findings This work was continued by Jeff Richard’s colleagues. They developed Anxiety Online, which is now funded by the Australian Government to provide free treatment.

Australian Rotary Health Funded Project Development of Guidelines for Mental Health First Aid in Crisis Situations

The Problem We really don’t know the best way for a member of the public to help someone in a crisis situation There is a need to develop guidelines like those for conventional first aid.

The Crises That We Covered Person who is suicidal Person engaging in deliberate self-harm Person who is out of contact with reality and seen to be threatening Person who is unwilling to seek professional help Person having a panic attack Person who has had a traumatic experience

The Solution A expert consensus study We searched the literature for all claims about what might help We selected international panels of experts who judged the appropriate of these first aid actions There were panels of clinical experts, consumers and carers

Guidelines for Mental Health First Aid Are Available from the MHFA Website

The Guidelines Were the Basis of Second Edition MHFA

Thank You to Rotarians for Your Support!