Experiences of discrimination and positive treatment from health professionals: A national survey of adults with mental health problems

Abstract

Objective: To systematically investigate the scope and nature of discrimination and positive treatment experienced by adults with mental health problems when using health services in an Australian population-based survey. Methods: Australian adults (n = 1381) who reported a mental health problem or scored high on a screening questionnaire were interviewed about their experience of discrimination and positive treatment from healthcare professionals. Descriptions of experiences were content-analysed to identify key characteristics. Results: In all, 11.8% of respondents reported discrimination from a health professional in the past 12 months. The most common types of discrimination included bei..