InstantScripts, a pioneer in Australian digital healthcare, has released the 2022 edition of its Mental Health Tracker. In spite of a recent drop in COVID cases, open borders, and few limitations, the data show that more Australians are experiencing mental health issues. In the last six months, seven out of ten Australians have suffered mental health symptoms which is up slightly from last year.
What Is InstantScripts?
The InstantScripts Mental Health Tracker was first introduced to the public in April this year. Its primary objective is to monitor our country’s mental health by collecting data from one thousand randomly selected Australians.
Every six months, survey takers are asked the same seven questions about their mental health and the conditions they’ve been experiencing, as well as the factors that may be to blame and the steps they’ve taken to improve their situation. While 70% of respondents had mental health concerns in the preceding six months, 72% considered their mental health to be either “fair” or “good” in the debut of Mental Health Tracker.
Dr Andrew Thompson, Medical Director at InstantScripts, says: “The results show an incremental decline in the population’s mental health, even though Australia is back to pre-pandemic living. It indicates that mental health issues, once they present, can take some time to resolve and therefore the impact of the pandemic could be far from behind us.”
In this newest tracking InstantScripts has shown that there has been a 1-4 per cent rise in the number of Australians who have had at least one mental health symptom in the previous six months. Generally, from a list of 12 typical mental health symptoms offered to respondents, 74% identified one or more mental health symptoms they had been facing, contrasted with 70% in late 2021 and early 2022.
Specifically:
- More than a third found it difficult to stay focussed on tasks in the last six months, a 4 per cent increase on the previous six months.
- 41 per cent experienced nervousness – a 2 per cent increase on the previous survey.
- 38 per cent experienced sadness, not related to a particular incident, or depression.
Concerningly, younger Australians aged 18-34-years-olds also experienced mental health symptoms at a higher rate than older age groups.
Specifically:
- More than half (59 per cent) of under-35s experienced nervousness, compared with 25 per cent of over-55s.
- Fifty-two (52) per cent of under-35s experienced sadness, compared with 30 per cent of over-55s.
- Feelings of hopelessness were prevalent among the younger population, at 45 per cent, compared with 18 per cent of over-55s.
Finance Is A Primary Factor Affecting Mental Health
Participants were also given a list of eleven potential stressors on their mental health during the last six months and asked to identify one that applied to them. The percentage of Australians who identified financial stress increased by 10% from the previous poll, suggesting that this is a more significant and widespread issue for the country’s population.
Comparing people of different ages, InstantScripts — the leading Australian Digital Healthcare— discovered that 48% of those under the age of 55 are struggling financially, while just 28% of those over the age of 55 reports feeling the same way.
“This year, Australia is grappling with new challenges, such as the rising cost of living and interest rates and other new infectious diseases such as monkeypox. While these issues may not impact every Australian, the discourse around them may be having an adverse impact on the mental health of a proportion of the public. Negative sentiment around health and the economy can cause uncertainty, discomfort and a sense of unsettlement in even financially stable and healthy individuals.”
Dr Thompson
“Having a support network of friends or family to turn to for help and advice, particularly during times of extreme stress, worry, fear or anxiety, is also vital.”
The full survey of the leading Australian Digital Healthcare results, including across ages and States, can be found here:
instantscripts.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/IS22014_Mental-Health.pdf
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