Promoting Mental Health and
Wellbeing in the Yarra Ranges
FACT SHEET
VicHealth, Victoria’s health promotion agency, defines mental health as:
“…the embodiment of social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Mental
health provides individuals with the vitality for active living, to achieve goals
and interact with one another in ways that are respectful and just.”
The available health data shows that mental health is a major issue for Yarra Ranges.
Council has made promoting positive mental health one of the key goals in the
Health and Wellbeing Plan.
What are the risks of having mental health issues?
There is a wide range of health issues associated with mental health problems:
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People with mental illness often suffer poorer nutrition, dental decay. They are vulnerable to chronic health conditions such as diabetes, and the negative health effects of weight gain due to medication.
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The death rate of people with a mental illness was 2.5 times higher than the general population.
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The death rate due to heart disease has trended down in the general population. But amongst persons with a mental illness, the death rate has increased amongst women and remained steady amongst men.
Psychological distress is in itself a risk factor for further risk factors such as risky
drinking, smoking and drug use. It is also directly linked to diseases and conditions
including fatigue, migraine, cardiovascular disease, injury, obesity, depression and
anxiety.
Why is mental health a priority in Yarra Ranges?
Compared to the rest of the Eastern Metropolitan Region (EMR), Yarra Ranges has a
range of mental health issues, particularly amongst young people:
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In 2011/12, Yarra Ranges had the second-highest rates of mental health clients in
the EMR, at 9.1 per 1,000 residents. This indicates that there are about 1,354 mental health clients in Yarra Ranges.
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In 2012, 11.5% of residents reported high or very high psychological distress, the second highest level in the Eastern Metropolitan Region. If this percentage was applied to the total population, it would indicate more than 17,000 people suffering from psychological distress. The rates of psychological distress in Victoria tend to be highest in interface Councils.
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In 2009/10, Yarra Ranges had 25 deaths from intentional self-harm. At 16.6 deaths per 100,000 residents, this was the second highest rate in the region.
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In 2009, 47% of Yarra Ranges’ adolescents reported being bullied, ranking it 7th-highest.
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Young people aged 15-24 had the highest emergency department presentation rate for mental health in Yarra Ranges, at 13 per 1,000 compared to 6 per 1,000 across the total population. They were the only age group with significantly above average emergency department presentations for mental health.
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In Yarra Ranges, the age groups with a significantly higher than expected hospital admission rate for mental diseases and disorders were 0-14 year olds and 65-74 year olds.
In 2010/11, Yarra Ranges had 2,079 hospital admissions where the main diagnosis
was for mental and behavioural disorders, 3% of total admissions. There were 3,800
total admissions with a mental health diagnosis code including depression (1,111
admissions – 29% of all mental health admissions); disorders of adult personality;
dementia; schizophrenia; acute reaction to stress; and mental retardation. Nearly
half of these would be where people were admitted for another condition as their
main diagnosis, e.g. injuries. Yarra Ranges also had 964 emergency department
presentations for mental and behavioural disorders, 2% of the total.
Service access
In 2013, Yarra Ranges had the lowest rate of GPs in the region and is well below the
state average, at 0.89 GPs per 1,000 residents compared to 1.33 for Victoria.
Only 51.6% of residents had private health insurance in 2011, compared to an EMR
average of 59.7%. This gives Yarra Ranges residents lower capacity to use private
mental health services, although Yarra Ranges also has low numbers of public health
services.
There are links between mental health service usage and a range of social and
health indicators. These include a link between distance from health services and
mental health admissions - the larger the distance to the nearest health service, the
lower the rate of mental health admissions. This may indicate service access as a
factor in the lower admission rate for isolated townships. Yarra Ranges has very few
public mental health service providers.
Mental health risk factors
At the same time, there is a high rate of psychological/psychiatric disability support
pension recipients in isolated areas. The larger the distance to the nearest health
service, the higher the rate of recipients. There was also a strong link between
recipients and disadvantage – again, the higher the disadvantage, the higher the
rate of recipients. Distance is linked to disadvantage (i.e. the longer the distance to
services, the higher the level of disadvantage), so it is possible that the link between
disadvantage and recipients is the key factor at play here.
Within Yarra Ranges, the areas with the highest rates of psychological/psychiatric
disability support pension recipients were Yarra Ranges’ most disadvantaged
postcodes:
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3799 - Big Pats Creek/McMahon’s Creek/Millgrove/Reefton/Warburton/Warburton East/Wesburn.
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3797 - Gladysdale/Powelltown/Yarra Junction.
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3777 - Chum Creek/Fernshaw/Healesville/Badger Creek.
Higher mental health service usage also is positively correlated with the following
indicators (the higher the indicator, the higher the level of mental health clients):
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Geographic isolation and lack of access to reliable transport.
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A high level of older residents and those with a disability.
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A high level of Indigenous residents.
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A high level of family violence incidents (moderate correlation).
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Poor health status.
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A low level of education and a high level of children developmentally vulnerable on two or more domains.
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Alcohol misuse.
There also tends to be a higher level of mental health clients where there is cheaper
housing, limited cultural diversity and low support for multiculturalism.
Potential areas for action
Council has a number of service roles that support mental health such as: the youth
mental health counseling service and programs that prevent social isolation such
as the Home and Community Care service and activities for older adults. Recreation
services support social connectedness as well as physical wellbeing. Our cultural
and arts events, community facilities and projects all contribute to supporting social,
emotional and spiritual wellbeing.
Whilst much of Council’s work is in the area of prevention, and promotion of positive
mental being, Council also has a key advocacy role in responding to mental health
issues and service gaps. Within the Health and Wellbeing Plan, Council’s key
activities include:
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working to build communities that support good mental health;
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reducing discrimination; supporting respectful relationships which reduce the risk of issues such as violence and bullying;
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working to increase access to mental health services in rural and isolated areas of the municipality.
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