Mental Health - Policy Implications

In this third - and final - installment of our mental health series, Stan and Clarence chat with Dr. Mike Trangle about mental health policy implications.

Join the conversation at healthchatterpodcast.com

Brought to you in support of Hue-MAN, who is Creating Healthy Communities through Innovative Partnerships. More about their work can be found at http://huemanpartnership.org/

Research:

Mental Health Policy across the world

WHO highlights urgent need to transform mental health and mental health care
The World Health Organization today released its largest review of world mental health since the turn of the century. The detailed work provides a blueprint for governments, academics, health professionals, civil society and others with an ambition to support the world in transforming mental health.
In 2019, nearly a billion people – including 14% of the world’s adolescents – were living with a mental disorder.
Suicide accounted for more than 1 in 100 deaths and 58% of suicides occurred before age 50.
Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability, causing 1 in 6 years lived with disability.
People with severe mental health conditions die on average 10 to 20 years earlier than the general population, mostly due to preventable physical diseases.
Childhood sexual abuse and bullying victimization are major causes of depression.
Social and economic inequalities, public health emergencies, war, and the climate crisis are among the global, structural threats to mental health.
Depression and anxiety went up by more than 25% in the first year of the pandemic alone.
Stigma, discrimination and human rights violations against people with mental health conditions are widespread in communities and care systems everywhere; 20 countries still criminalize attempted suicide.
Across countries, it is the poorest and most disadvantaged in society who are at greatest risk of mental ill-health and who are also the least likely to receive adequate services.

Mental health policy in MN

Policy influence on health outcomes

Health policy can have a major impact on health and well-being. Healthy People 2030 focuses on keeping people safe and healthy through laws and policies at the local, state, territorial, and federal level.
Evidence-based health policies can help prevent disease and promote health. For example, smoke-free policies can help prevent smoking initiation and increase quit attempts. Similarly, policies requiring community water systems to provide fluoridated water can improve oral health.

Mental Health by the numbers

from February 1 to 13, 2023, 28.3% of adults in Minnesota reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder, compared to 32.3% of adults in the U.S.
In 2021, 20.1% of adolescents (ages 12-17) and 8.3% of adults in the U.S. reported having a major depressive episode in the past year.
The pandemic has coincided with an increase in substance use and increased death rates due to substances.

Opioid overdoses are the primary driver of increases in drug overdose deaths.
In 2000, opioid overdoses represented 48% of drug overdose deaths in the U.S.; by 2021, they represented 75% of these deaths.

In May 2022, among adults in Minnesota who reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder, 30.6% reported needing counseling or therapy but not receiving it in the past four weeks, compared to the U.S. average of 28.2%.

U.S

The United States has some of the worst mental health–related outcomes, including the highest suicide rate and second-highest drug-related death rate.

The U.S. has the highest suicide rate among 11 high-income countries, and the rate has increased every year since 2000.

Rural residents in the USA experience significant disparities in mental health outcomes even though the prevalence of mental illness in rural and metropolitan areas is similar

The vast majority of individuals with a substance use disorder in the U.S. are not receiving treatment. 15.35% of adults had a substance use disorder in the past year. Of them, 93.5% did not receive any form of treatment.
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are nearly 4x more likely to attempt suicide than straight youth
79% of people who die by suicide are male
Transgender adults are nearly 9x more likely to attempt suicide at some point in their lifetime compared to the general population
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among people aged 10-14
One in six U.S. adults is unable to get or afford professional help when experiencing emotional distress.
Depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy $1 trillion in lost productivity each year
Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide

Questions about the policy implications for mental health:

How does research in mental health translate to policies?
Does the U.S do a good job of creating policies that reflect mental health research?
How can the U.S. start moving the needle towards better access to care and a lower prevalence of mental illness using policy.

Sources

https://mhanational.org/issues/2023/ranking-states

https://www.kff.org/statedata/mental-health-and-substance-use-state-fact-sheets/minnesota/

https://www.nami.org/mhstats

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7681156/