This is an article about mental health in Ireland, just published half
an hour ago in the Irish times.
Research shows 14% suffer mental distress
A major study into the extent of mental health problems in Ireland has
found that 14 per cent of people experienced some form of
psychological distress over the past year.
The research, conducted by the Health Research Board (HRB) and the
Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), also found that
significant numbers of people suffering from mental health problems
did not seek any form of help from the health service.
A total of 9 per cent reported that they had attended a general
practitioner in the previous year, specifically for mental health
difficulties.
Dr Donna Tedstone Doherty, senior researcher at the HRB, said the
study's findings underline the need to improve awareness and
availability of mental health services.
"This study is starting to give us a better picture of the extent of
psychological distress in the Irish population," she said.
"It is essential that we acknowledge that it is a real problem and
help remove the stigma associated with mental health problems.
"It will also be important to increase availability of mental health
services and raise people's awareness of these services so that people
are able to access dedicated, specialised care."
The survey was a telephone survey of a nationally representative
random sample of 2,711 adults aged 18 years and over and living in
private households.
The preliminary results are being presented this week at a three-day
conference on mental health at Dublin City University. A final report
which presents all the findings will be published at the end of
October.
In a related study, researchers at the HRB wanted to find out whether
people's willingness to talk about their mental health problems
impacted on their sense of psychological wellbeing
Mark Ward, a researcher, said there were strong links to show that
people who were willing to share their distressing experiences were
more likely to have a better standard of mental health.
In addition, he said women and young people were the most willing to
disclose their experiences.
Other findings to be discussed at the conference will examine the
readmission of patients with mental health problems to psychiatric
hospitals.
It will show that people most likely to be readmitted to a psychiatric
unit are people who are younger, suffer from schizophrenia or have
drug-related problems.
The study will also show that a significant number of those re-
admitted have alcoholic disorders.
This remains a concern in light of the recommendations of successive
policy documents to treat this disorder in community-based settings.
Patients who were admitted for a short time, such as less than a week,
were less likely to be re-admitted than those with a length of stay of
three months or more.
Antoinette Daly, a researcher at the HRB, said patients with recurring
illnesses, such as schizophrenia, will require frequent in-patient
admissions because of the nature of their condition. As a result, re-
admissions will continue to be a feature of in-patient services
regardless of any future expansion of community-based services.
"An examination of community services in terms of services provided,
staffing and resources invested should be considered to plan
rationally and effectively for the future," she said.
The conference at DCU is due to continue today with a keynote
presentation from Prof Thomas Szasz, a well-known critic of the moral
and scientific foundations of psychiatry.
In a presentation likely to spark controversy, he is expected to
reject the commonly-accepted understanding of mental illness and
reject practices in the psychiatric profession such as placing
patients in special legal categories and detaining patients against
their will.
mental health in Ireland 
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