Mental health has largely negative connotations to most respondents of a new survey published by the Western Health Board (WHB).
Very few of those questioned view mental health positively, in spite of its contribution to overall well-being. The survey found that 88 per cent of respondents equate the term "mental health" with "sickness", "depression" and "hospitals", and not as a resource for everyday life.
The vast majority - also at 88 per cent - saw their GP as the first point of contact for mental health services. Only a minority referred to voluntary and self-help groups.
If they needed to, most of those questioned said they would use the current mental health services - but only when circumstances were relatively extreme, such as inability to cope or total breakdown. Only 4 per cent of respondents said they had used a mental health service in the past six months, and the majority of these expressed satisfaction.
Most of those participants rated their mental health as good. However, the authors emphasise this finding may over-emphasise mental health status, as most people view it simply as an absence of illness.
Over half of those surveyed did not believe they were well informed about mental health, and two-thirds did not believe they knew enough about services relating to it.
Only 16 per cent of those with good information said they had gleaned it from health board sources. The survey also found that literacy skills within the WHB area appear to be somewhat better than reported in recent studies at a national level.
The survey, conducted by Dr David Evans and Ms Jacky Jones of the WHB, was presented at a conference last week in Furbo, Co Galway.
The multi-agency conference was held to discuss the promotion of mental health, with a focus on the new social, personal and health education programme in post-primary schools.
The survey's authors developed a questionnaire following consultation, aimed at determining perceptions of mental health; people's abilities to cope with life's "ups and downs"; whether people's needs are generally met; and satisfaction with social life, friends, loneliness and isolation.
Among the recommendations are that mental health should be promoted as a resource, and that efforts should be made to reduce the stigma that may be attached to using mental health services.
