Our impact: references
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Two in three adults (65%) have experienced a mental health problem at some point in their lives:
- Mental Health Foundation/NatCen (March 2017): Surviving or Thriving?: The State of the UK’s Mental Health – page 5.
38% of all ill-health is caused by mental health problems (for under-65s):
- Centre for Economic Performance (2012): How mental illness loses out in the NHS – page 6.
Over 300,000 people in England are living with a psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia.
- Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey: Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, England, 2014 [NS] – a survey of adults in residential settings in England aged 16 and above. This shows 0.7% prevalence among the adult population for psychotic disorders, Table 5.1.
- ONS Mid-Year Population Estimate 2014: England 16 and over population: 44,013,062.
Nearly nine out of ten people (87%) with mental health problems have experienced stigma and discrimination.
- Time to Change (2008), Stigma shout: service user and carer experiences of stigma and discrimination – page 6.
Mental ill-health has the same effect on life expectancy as smoking.
- Centre for Economic Performance (2012): How mental illness loses out in the NHS – page 9.
People with severe mental health problems, such as psychosis or bipolar disorder, die on average 20 years earlier.
- Brown S, Kim M, Mitchell C and Inskip H. (2010): “Twenty-five year mortality of a community cohort with schizophrenia” British Journal of Psychiatry 196 pp 116–121;
- Parks J, Svendsen D, Singer P et al. (2006): “Morbidity and Mortality in People with Serious Mental Illness” 13th technical report. Alexandria, Virginia: National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors.
- As featured in: Rethink Mental Illness (2013): Lethal Discrimination: Why people with mental illness are dying needlessly and what needs to change.
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People with mental health problems are three times more likely to have debt problems.
The smoking rate amongst people with mental health problems is double the national average.
- Adult smoking habits in Great Britain (2014). Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, ONS, 2016.
- Szatkowsk Li & McNeill A. Diverging trends in smoking behaviours according to mental health status. Nicotine & Tobacco Research 2015; 3: 356-60.
- As featured in: Action on Smoking and Health: Smoking and Mental Health – page 1.
80% of homeless people report a mental health problem.
- Homeless Link (2014): The unhealthy state of homelessness: Health audit results – page 8.
Up to 90% of the prison population have a mental health problem.
- The Bradley Report: Lord Bradley’s review of people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in the criminal justice system (2009) – page 8.
- Original Source: ONS (2001): Psychiatric Morbidity Among Prisoners, 1997: Summary report
20 to 40% of police time is spent supporting people with mental health problems.
- Independent Commission on Mental Health and Policing Report (2013) – page 12.
Mental health problems cost the economy in England £100bn every year.
- Centre for Mental Health (October 2010): The economic and social costs of mental health problems in 2009/10 – page 1.
- Health and Safety Executive (2016): Statistics on Work Days Lost.
Only 65% of people with psychotic mental health conditions, and 25% of adults with depression and anxiety-related conditions, are thought to receive support from services.
- Mind (2015): Manifesto for Mental Health – page 12.
Only 38% of people using community mental health services feel that they receive the help they need quickly enough.
- Care Quality Commission (June 2015): Right here, right now – help, care and support during a mental health crisis – page 23.
Of the 100,000 people who die in England each year in avoidable circumstances, one in three have a mental health problem.
- ReThink Mental Illness (2013): Lethal discrimination: Why people with mental illness are dying needlessly and what needs to change.
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The British public were asked: What has the biggest effect on your mental wellbeing? #1 Response: Relationships with family and friends. #2 Response: Jobs / work-life balance.
- British Social Attitudes survey (2015): Attitudes to mental health problems and mental wellbeing – page 2.
People who’ve attempted or considered suicide were asked: What contributed to your decision? 41% Financial and/or housing pressures. 29% Job loss or difficulties at work. 25% Relationship breakdown.
- Mind / YouGov (2016): One in two people with mental health problems have felt suicidal because of money, housing or benefits issue.
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Less than half (41%) of the British public recognise that social workers are important providers of mental health support. 29% of the British public mistakenly think that mental health social workers do household jobs like cooking and cleaning. 27% think that they provide help with washing and dressing, and 30% that they provide childcare.
- Think Ahead / ComRes (2017): Think Ahead finds vital role of mental health social worker is misunderstood.
Students at the UK’s top universities rate social work 5 out of 10 for career status, below teaching, policing, and nursing.
- Research by High Fliers.
Research has found that social workers often struggle to be heard by other professionals in multidisciplinary teams, and are often required to act in limited roles that don’t enable them to use all their professional skills.
- All Party Parliamentary Group On Social Work (2016): Report of the inquiry into adult mental health services in England – page 20.
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14% of our participants are Oxford or Cambridge graduates, compared to just 0.5% of new entrants to social work master’s courses in 2011/12.
- Data supplied by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
- Skills for Care (2015): Social work education in England 2009 – 2014 – Table 1.2 page 5.
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Outside Think Ahead, less than 8% of training placements are in mental health services.
- David Croisdale-Appleby (February 2014): Re-visioning social work education: an independent review – page 57.