AIHW mental health-related reports

Most young people in Australia are happy, feel positive about the future and are satisfied with their lives overall. However, some young people suffer poor mental health.

Part of: Australia's youth

Chronic conditions are an important global, national and individual health concern. They cause substantial ill health, disability, premature death, and disease burden. Many people with chronic conditions do not have a single condition, but rather they have multimorbidity – the presence of 2 or more chronic conditions at the same time. Using 10 major chronic conditions, this report, and the associated fact sheet, explore the characteristics and experiences of people with multimorbidity.

Many factors influence childhood overweight and obesity. They include individual and family factors in the home environment—where a child lives and grows—as well as the broader community and society. Parenting practices, styles and modelling of behaviour influence their children’s dietary intake, movement and health behaviours. This report looks at how nutrition, movement, psychological health, surrounding environmental factors and socioeconomic factors influence childhood overweight and obesity within the home environment.

The 2019–20 bushfire season saw unprecedented fires sweep across Australia with a massive impact on many communities, devastating the natural environment and compromising air quality. This report examines a range of health data sources to assess the short-term health impacts of the bushfires, including: emergency department visits, prescription and purchase of asthma medicines, mental health service use and GP visits. Results show clear associations between increased bushfire activity, including poor air quality, and people seeking assistance for their health.

Positive relationships with health care providers and care continuity are key to improving patients’ health outcomes. This web report provides data on patients with chronic conditions experiences with their health providers, particularly with respect to whether or not GPs and other specialists communicated in a respectful and attentive way. Most people with chronic conditions reported positive experiences with their GPs and other specialists. However, younger patients and patients with mental health conditions reported less positive experiences.

More information on the topic, data and analysis is available in the accompanying main PDF report Experiences in health care for people with chronic conditions: how GPs and other specialists communicate with their patients.

Overweight and obesity affects 25% of Australian children and adolescents, and is associated with poorer health and wellbeing and higher health-care costs. Some children and adolescents are more likely to be overweight or obese, such as Indigenous children and children living in disadvantaged areas. Many factors contribute to the development of overweight and obesity, including environmental influences and individual behaviours.

This paper reviews the evidence on effective and culturally appropriate mental health and social and emotional wellbeing programs and services for Indigenous people in Australia. It identifies what works, what doesn't, and the gaps in the research evidence. Background information is also included on the key determinants of mental health and wellbeing, the local policy context, and the 9 principles of effective program and service delivery in Indigenous mental health policy, programs, and services.

This report investigates the prevalence of mental illness in association with common chronic diseases and shows that in 2007: 12% of Australians aged 16-85 had a mental disorder and a physical condition at the same time; the most common comorbidity was anxiety disorder combined with a physical condition, affecting around 1.4 million (9%) Australian adults; people living in the most disadvantaged areas of Australia were 65% more likely to have comorbidity than those living in the least disadvantaged areas.

The disability and chronic pain due to many musculoskeletal conditions may underlie the development or exacerbation of a variety of mental disorders. The report maps the extent of their relationship in the Australian population.

Under Australia's National Illicit Drug Strategy, a National Comorbidity Initiative was established to improve service coordination and treatment outcomes for people with coexisting mental health and substance use disorders. A priority area under this Initiative is to improve data systems and collections methods within the mental health and alcohol and other drug sectors to manage comorbidity more effectively. This project, commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, identifies, reviews and reports on the current state of data collections relating to people with coexisting substance use and mental health disorders ('comorbidity') in Australia.