Tag: Mental Health
-
Early interventions crucial for children’s mental health: Prof Sharon Goldfeld
PHAA The inaugural Preventive Mental Health Symposium, which happens in Melbourne and online on 12 March, marks the first time experts from the mental health and public health sectors get together to discuss ways to protect and promote mental wellbeing. It’s hosted by the Public Health Association of Australia, in…
-
Rachel Fishlock on increasing First Nations’ leadership across Australia’s mental health system
PHAA We know that collaborations between the public health and mental health sectors are vital to bridge the gap between what works and what’s happening in practice and policy. One effort toward that is the inaugural Preventive Mental Health Symposium, which will be held in Melbourne and online on Tuesday…
-
Preventive mental health is the way forward: Dr Luke Martin
PHAA The situation is urgent. The prevalence and impact of mental health conditions continues to rise and the demand for mental healthcare services is exceeding their availability, despite steadily increasing investment in treatment. The inaugural Preventive Mental Health Symposium, to be held in Melbourne on 12 March, is shifting the gear…
-
No health without mental health: Dr Carbone on prevention
PHAA The inaugural Preventive Mental Health Symposium, to be held in Melbourne on 12 March, is a must for anyone interested in mental wellbeing promotion and mental ill-health prevention. Dr Stephen Carbone, is CEO of Prevention United and symposium sponsor, and is also a Co-Convenor of PHAA’s Mental Health Special…
-
Cyberbullying among adolescents a major issue for mental health
Chenai F Dunduru and Dr Fahad Hanna Content warning: this article contains discussions of suicide. The relationship between cyberbullying and suicidality is a major public health issue that has captured the attention of researchers across the globe. In Australia, over half of all young people have experienced cyberbullying, which can…
-
Mental and Dental: How systems thinking can transform oral health
Dr Silvana Bettiol, Associate Professor Archana Pradhan, and Professor Steve Kisely The increasing global challenge of mental health disorders poses a substantial burden on public health worldwide. Today, it accounts for approximately 5% of the worldwide disease burden. Those affected face an increased vulnerability to physical multimorbidity, encompassing conditions such…
-
What is preventive mental health?
Dr Stephen Carbone, PHAA Mental Health Special Interest Group co-convenor It has famously been said that there’s no health without mental health, so it’s wonderful to see the National Preventive Health Strategy include a specific focus on promoting and protecting mental health. But success in preventive mental health requires us…
-
A chance to check-in and ask R U OK?
A PHAA member Content warning – this blog contains discussion of suicide Today is R U OK? Day. I want to share my recent experiences and encourage people to not wait to check-in on people they know. One recent evening while watching recordings from the Preventive Health Conference 2023,…
-
Confronting the barriers to ADHD services
Jainoor Rana, former PHAA intern The Australian Senate recently authorised its Community Affairs Committee to conduct an inquiry into assessment and support services for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The announcement is the result of a proposal spearheaded by Western Australian Senator Jordon Steele-John in response to…
-
Australia has a long way to go to achieve health equity for LGBTQIA+ people, conference told
Elspeth Hickey, PHAA Intern This March saw the largest LGBTQIA+ conference in the southern hemisphere take place on the Eora nation, the traditional land of the Gadigal people. The Sydney WorldPride Human Rights Conference from 1-3 March featured more than 60 presenters, including United Nations representatives, parliamentarians, activists, lawyers, health…
-
An election on health lacking vision beyond hospitals: why Victoria must invest in Public Health and prevention
PHAA Victoria Prevention Subcommittee The PHAA’s Victorian branch, in partnership with the Australian Health Promotion Association and Australasian Epidemiological Association, have released their 2022 Victorian Election Scorecard. This assesses the policy platforms of the major parties – Labor, the Coalition (Liberal/National) and the Greens – against our joint Election Platform, which…
-
Public health research highlighted during NAIDOC Week
Dr Michelle Kennedy and Dr Leanne Coombe PHAA celebrates this year’s NAIDOC Week theme, as outlined on the official NAIDOC site: “Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! with us to amplify our voices and narrow the gap between aspiration and reality, good intent and outcome. It’s also time to celebrate…
-
What’s taking the biggest toll on our mental health? Disconnection, financial stress and long waits for care
Marlee Bower, University of Sydney; Maree Teesson, University of Sydney, and Scarlett Smout, University of Sydney The new Labor government arrives at a time of mounting mental health strain: Australians have endured COVID, extreme weather events and financial stress from increased living costs. The new government has a lot to…
-
Will the 2022 Victorian Budget solve the mental health crisis?
Stephen Carbone, Prevention United The recent Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System uncovered a system in crisis. In its interim report, the Commission stated that, “once admired as the most progressive in our nation, the state’s mental health system has catastrophically failed to live up to expectations”. The Commission…
-
Despite a downward trend, smoking is still taking too many Australian lives
Jeremy Lasek – PHAA While the prevalence of smoking has steadily declined (by 75%) in the last 40 years in Australia, it still contributes to around 20,000 deaths a year – that’s 20 times more than the number of deaths on our roads. Tobacco is also the leading cause of…
-
Can we avoid public health workforce burnout during health emergencies?
Amy Elizabeth Parry – Australian National University With no tangible end to the COVID-19 pandemic in sight, burnout of the public health workforce is a real and imminent threat. Due to the urgent nature of emergency responses, the emergency health surge workforce is frequently selected based on individuals’ availability, rather…
-
Keenan Mundine on his life of incarceration, and making Justice Health more culturally safe
Jeremy Lasek – PHAA We hear plenty about the importance of sharing, and understanding the lived experiences of others. At this week’s 2021 PHAA Justice Health Conference we were privileged to hear a very raw, yet powerful story of the lived experience of Keenan Mundine. Keenan is a proud Aboriginal…
-
Looking after our mental health during COVID-19
Deena Mehjabeen – PHAA member Mental health is essential to our health and wellbeing. In Australia, around 1 in 5 people aged 16–85 experience a mental health disorder. Worryingly, the leading cause of death among Australians aged 15–24 and those aged 25–44 is suicide. R U OK? is a…
-
Mental health and adaptation to climate change
Dr Fiona Robards, Co-Convenor Mental Health Special Interest Group, PHAA Climate change presents an existential threat. It is almost unbelievable that we may be confronting the breakdown of civilisation and human extinction. For parents, the prospect of their children experiencing predicted hardship can be particularly unthinkable. The public is becoming…
-
20% of pregnant Australian women don’t receive the recommended mental health screening
One-fifth of Australian women still don’t receive mental health checks both before and after the birth of their baby, our research published today has found.
-
Getting to the causes: Mental health and making real productivity gains post COVID
For many of us, forced to work at home or to not work at all, the COVID-19 crisis has driven home the importance of mental health and how work interacts with our sense of wellbeing.