A quarter of Irish have experienced mental illness

ALMOST ONE-QUARTER of Irish people have personal experience of mental illness or a suicide in their peer group, according to the Global Health Survey 2011.

This figure is among the lowest of the western countries included in the survey; by contrast, 46 per cent of Finns have personal experience of mental illness or suicide, while the figure for the UK is 43 per cent. The international average is 27 per cent, but this is influenced by far lower reporting in most Asian countries.

International Research Institutes, which commissioned the research, says that some countries are much slower to admit to experience of mental illness and suicide, with cultural difficulties arising in Italy, Romania and India.

While Irish people’s experience of mental illness and suicide is limited, a big majority believe mental illness is prevalent. Some 78 per cent of Irish people said mental illness was widespread, compared to an overall international average of 68 per cent.

“The difference between the perceived prevalence and the direct experience of mental illness may be explicable by stigma in relation to mental illness, or may be a factor of reluctance to recognise manifestations of it in certain cultures,” the report states.

Irish people are heavy users of GPs, though other health professionals are relatively under-utilised, the survey shows. Two-thirds of us had visited a doctor in the previous year, while just over a third had used the services of a pharmacist. Just 18 per cent had seen a specialist in the public system while 13 per cent had visited a private consultant. Some 15 per cent of people had attended a nurse while 10 per cent went to a physiotherapist.

Not surprisingly, the family GP was the person we turned to when consulting on health issues (61 per cent) followed by pharmacists (29 per cent) and family and friends (23 per cent).

The internet is increasingly a source of health information but Irish online usage is a fraction of that in other western countries. Some 51 per cent accessed health information from websites last year compared to 79 per cent in the US and 71 per cent in the UK. Other important sources were books, magazines and newspapers, and GP pamphlets.

Asked about factors that contribute to good health, Irish people put a greater emphasis on physical activity than in other countries, while we tended to downplay air pollution and alcohol consumption.