The Australian national survey of psychotic disorders: Profile of psychosocial disability and its risk factors

Abstract

Background. Knowledge of the level of psychosocial impairment associated with psychosis is important in evaluating the impact of the illness on those affected. When such knowledge is derived from community-based epidemiological surveys, it can help in providing a public health perspective for service planning with information derived from representative samples of patients. Methods. A two-phase epidemiological survey of persons with psychosis in four predominantly urban areas of Australia. First phase screening for psychosis (N=5710) was followed by a semi-structured interview of a stratified random sample (N=980) to assess psychopathology (lifetime and current) and psychosocial disability. ..