Editorial
The Lancet
Volume 380, Issue 9858, Page 1968
Last week, Australia's National Mental Health Commission released A Contributing Life: the 2012 National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, its first such publication. The report card takes a whole-of-life approach, recognising that, like everyone else, people who have a mental illness need a stable home, a decent education, a job, good physical health, and a support network, as well as access to high-quality treatment and services.
There is a special focus on the first Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, who still face enormous disadvantages when compared with the general population. This disadvantage starts before birth. For example, three in ten Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, including pregnant women, report barriers to accessing health services. 50% of pregnant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women smoke. And one in seven new Indigenous mothers have postnatal depression. As the report notes, a child born into these circumstances does not have an auspicious start in life. Furthermore, an Indigenous child is two and a half times more likely to be born into the lowest income group, and has a one in two chance of living in a one-parent household when compared with the general population. All these factors play into adolescence and adulthood, and increase the risk of mental health problems and associated issues such as substance misuse in the Indigenous population. Up to 15% of the 10-year life expectancy gap compared with non-Indigenous Australians has been attributed to mental health disorders.
The report recommends the development and implementation of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing Plan to commence in 2013 as well as training and employment of more Indigenous people in mental health services. This must be a national government priority, as should addressing the deep health and social inequalities faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Australia's Indigenous population should have the opportunity to thrive, not just survive.
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)62139-4
