INFORMATION RESOURCES ON MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
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Sources of data
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Adult Psychiatric Morbidity in England, 2007: results of a household survey
The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) series provides data on the prevalence of both treated and untreated psychiatric disorder in the English adult population (aged 16 and over).
This 2007 survey is the third in a series and was conducted by the National Centre for Social Research in collaboration with the University of Leicester for the NHS Information Centre for health and social care. People aged over 75 were included in the survey for the first time.
The previous surveys were conducted in 1993 (16-64 year olds) and 2000 (16-74 year olds) by the Office for National Statistics, and covered England, Scotland and Wales.
The survey covers:
- Common mental disorders
- Posttraumatic stress disorder
- Suicidal thoughts, attempts and self-harm
- Psychosis;
- Antisocial and borderline personality disorders
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Eating disorder
- Alcohol misuse and dependency
- Drug use and dependency
- Problem gambling
- Psychiatric comorbidity
A separate chapter has also been produced covering autism.
Prevalence of Common Mental Health Problems: Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity Among Adults Living in Private Households (1993 and 2000)
Findings from the 1993 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey include associated surveys of adults living in institutions and homeless adults. The 2000 survey describes the prevalence of a range of mental disorders, including personality disorder, in the general household population. It also considers the changing prevalence of some of these disorders since the 1993 survey. It describes how people with particular disorders differ from those without any disorder on a range of factors: their background and personal characteristics, including employment and accommodation, physical health, current treatment and service use.
A report, comparing findings from 1993 and 2000 surveys, is available for downloading.
Survey findings have been applied to the East Midlands population and are presented in the report Profile of Mental Health in the East Midlands, 2006:
The Health Survey for England
The Health Survey for England (HSE) covers adults aged 16 and over and children aged 2 to 15 years. The survey is carried out annually and results for 2004 have recently been published. Measurements relevant to mental health include the prevalence of psychological well-being of children (assessed by the SDQ and GHQ questionnaires) and prevalence of reporting of long standing mental illness. Data on perceived stress and availability of social support are also available.
Selected HSE findings have been applied to the East Midlands population and are presented in the report, Profile of Mental Health in the East Midlands, 2006.
Attitudes to mental illness in England 2007
This is the most recent survey of people's attitudes to mental illness. The previous survey was conducted in 2003. The surveys act as a tracking mechanism, and in each report the most recent results are compared with those from the earlier surveys. The general public in England is still relatively understanding about mental illness:
- Nearly 9 out of 10 think those with mental health problems deserve our sympathy
- More than 4 out of 5 think society needs to be more tolerant towards mentally-ill people
- 9 out of 10 believe society has a responsibility to provide the best possible care
- Nearly 4 out of 5 disagree with the idea that people with mental health problems are a burden on society.
Mental Illness Needs Index (MINI)
MINI was designed to predict the distribution of mental health problems at small area level. It was developed by statistical modelling using hospital admissions as dependent variables and nationally available, ward level data about population characteristics as predictor variables. The latest version (MINI2000) uses 1998 admission data for England, with component variables from the Index of Multiple Deprivation, and the ONS Area Classification. MINI2000 produces predicted numbers and rates of admissions for both PCTs and local authorities.
MINI2000 data for the East Midlands population have been extracted and are presented in the report Profile of Mental Health in the East Midlands, 2006:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)
HES provides information on admitted patient care delivered by NHS hospitals in England from 1989 onwards. Each financial year around 12 million records for inpatients and day cases are generated containing data such as age, sex, dates of admission and discharge, diagnoses and operations and procedures.
Although comprehensive, HES data are of limited usefulness in understanding mental health care as only a small proportion of people who experience mental health problems are admitted to inpatient care.
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PAGE CREATED: 17 November 2009 | PAGE REVISED: 9 March 2010