Research & Key Facts

• One in four of us will suffer at some stage in our lives from a mental health problem (DOH 2001).

• 'Like Minds, Like Mine': a New Zealand project to counter the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness - "Advertising involving the stories of well-known and famous people who have experienced mental illness has created significant interest, awareness and improved attitudes among the general public" (Like Minds, 2004).

• Three in five said they would not tell people about their own or another’s mental distress for fear of discrimination (Mental Health Foundation, May 2000)

• Research suggests that by 2020, clinical depression will be second only to chronic heart disease as an international health burden (World Health Organisation 1998).

• Mental illness costs England over £77bn a year (Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health 2003)

• - Every 40 seconds a person commits suicide somewhere in the world.
- Every 3 seconds a person attempts to die
- Suicide is among the top three causes of death among young people aged 15-35 years
- Each suicide has a serious impact on at least six other people
- The psychological, social and financial impact of suicide on the family and community is immeasurable
(World Health Organisation 2000).

• Mental illnesses are not perceived to be as serious as physical ones — by the public and Government alike. Mental-health services are usually the first to be cut if the NHS is in deficit, despite the fact that one in four people in the UK will be affected by a mental-health problem over their lifetime. Ultimately, turning the tide of stigma and neglect that faces many people with mental ill- health in the UK will require a substantial shift in public and ministerial attitudes (Lancet Editorial 14th July 2007)

• The total cost of mental ill health to employers is estimated at nearly £26 billion each year. That is equivalent to £1,035 for every employee in the UK workforce. The business costs comprise:
- £8.4 billion a year in sickness absence. The average employee takes seven days off sick each year of which 40 per cent are for mental health problems. This adds up to 70 million lost working days a year, including one in seven directly caused by a person’s work or working conditions.
- £15.1 billion a year in reduced productivity at work. ‘Presenteeism’ accounts for 1.5 times as much working time lost as absenteeism and costs more to employers because it is more common among higher-paid staff.
- £2.4 billon a year in replacing staff who leave their jobs because of mental ill health.
Simple steps to improve the management of mental health in the workplace, including prevention and early identification of problems, should enable employers to save 30 per cent or more of these costs – at least £8 billion a year.
(Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health 2007).

Key Sources of Research

ok2b is now a member of the Dgroup of the International Consortium for Research and Action Against Health-Related Stigma (ICRAAS). This was established in November 2004, at an international Workshop on Health-Related Stigma and Discrimination, held in The Netherlands. The central aim of the ICRAAS is to reduce health-related stigma and its harmful consequences, including discrimination and social exclusion. ICRAAS builds on the existing body of research and implementation experiences of its consortium partners. It aims to deepen understanding of stigma processes and develop measurement tools and stigma reduction strategies through sharing, combining and exchanging knowledge and expertise and through collaborative future research and actions on health-related stigma and discrimination.

Annals of General Psychiatry
Best Evidence Medical Education
Campbell Collaboration
Center for Enquiry Into Health and Allied Themes
Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine
Centre for Evidence Based Mental Health (CEBMH)
Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD)
Chicago Consortium for Stigma Research
Cinahl
Clinical Evidence - Mental Health
Cochrane Collaboration
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Embase
Government Social Research
Illinois Institute of Technology
Institute of Psychiatry (IOP)
Involve
Medical Research Council
Mental Health Care
Mental Health Foundation
Mental Health Research & Development Unit
Mental Illness Research Association
Mind
NARSAD
National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health
National Electronic Library for Mental Health (NELH)
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Research Register
New Zealand Health Tech Assessment Clearing Hse
NHS Specialist Library Mental Health
Omni
Psychdirect
PsychiatryOnline.com
PsychMinded
PsycINFO
Public Health Electronic Library (PHeL)
PubMed
Rethink
Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health
Shift
Social Perspectives Network (SPN)
UK Clinical Research Collaboration
UK Mental Health Research Network (MHRN)
World Health Organisation Evidence Network

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