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Quantification and examination of depression-related mental health literacy
Kirsten I Dunn1, Robert D Goldney, Eleonora Dal Grande
1Discipline of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. kirsten.dunn@adelaide.edu.au
Objective:
The aim of the study was to create an algorithm to measure depression-related mental health literacy.
Method:
Participants were those recruited for the 1998 and 2004 South Australian Health Omnibus Surveys. Two unprompted questions were selected from a mental health literacy questionnaire and responses were quantified through allocation of scores agreed by a focus group of mental health professionals.
Results:
An application of the algorithm resulted in findings consistent with those of other research, providing face validity for the method developed. The application allowed for examination of overall levels of depression-related mental health literacy, with improvement found between 1998 and 2004. Similarly, differences in overall literacy according to demographics were also uncovered.
Conclusions:
Tracking mental health literacy within populations is important as it has been shown to be related to individual help-seeking as well as provision of support for those with a mental disorder. The method devised in this study allows for comparisons of literacy levels to be made across populations and time. It also offers increased capacity for statistical application.
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