Journal article
Lower Income Levels in Australia Are Strongly Associated With Elevated Psychological Distress: Implications for Healthcare and Other Policy Areas
AN Isaacs, J Enticott, G Meadows, B Inder
Frontiers in Psychiatry | FRONTIERS MEDIA SA | Published : 2018
Abstract
Background: Australia is a high-income country with increasing income inequality. It is unclear whether Australia's well-developed mental healthcare system is making a difference to population mental health and the Federal Government has targeted outcomes accountability in service funding strategies. In high-income countries, evidence generally suggests that income inequalities increase mental disorders among the poor. This study examined psychological-distress rates—a marker of mental ill- health—as varying by income among Australians living within and outside of capital cities. Methods: Secondary data analysis was undertaken using the population-level mental health indicator of the Kessler..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The survey was funded by the Australian Government Department of Health. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not those of the Australian Bureau of Statistics or the Australian Government. These agencies are responsible for the initial data only and are not responsible for the analyses, interpretations, or conclusions reached by the authors. The authors did not receive any separate funding to write this paper. The authors report no conflict of interest for the research presented in this paper.