Mental health status of the South Australian population

Objective: To determine, by the use of a telephone survey, the mental healt h status of SA adults (18+ years) using the GHQ-28, SF-12 and self-report a s indicators of mental health, and to examine risk factors for mental healt h morbidity. Sample: A random representative sample of South Australian adults selected from the Electronic White Pages. Overall, 2,501 interviews were conducted ( 74.0% response rate). Results: Overall, 19.5% of respondents had a mental health problem as deter mined by the GHQ-28, 11.8% as determined by the mental health component sum mary score of the SF-12 and 11.9% self-reported a mental health condition. The percentage of people with a mental health problem who had used a psycho logist or a psychiatrist in the previous 12 months was 9.6% for people diag nosed by the GHQ-28, 16.2% by SF-12 and 23.7% for self-report. The logistic regression analyses undertaken to describe people with a mental health pro blem as determined by the GHQ-28 and to describe people who visited a psych ologist or psychiatrist produced different age categories, demographic and co-morbidity indicators. Variables found in both analyses included living i n the metropolitan area, being economically inactive and being a high user of health services. Conclusions: One in five South Australian adults has a mental problem. Alth ough the prevalence is higher for younger age groups, older adults are more likely to visit a psychologist or a psychiatrist. Implications: Telephone interviewing produces robust indicators of the prev alence of mental health problems and is a cost-effective way of identifying prevalence estimates or tracking changes over time.