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The Productivity Commission Inquiry Report on mental health has now been publicly released. Most of the media reporting will be on recommendations, so I thought I'd go through and tease out some of the "what works" findings I find interesting. /1 https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/mental-health/report/mental-health-volume2.pdf
In terms of early intervention, draft recommendations which included a "social and emotional wellbeing" check as part of general child health checks received a backlash by some due to concerns about overmedication. Still pursuing this. /2
Emphasis for early intervention for vulnerable groups in terms of mental health: poor physical health, trauma history, socio-economic disadvantage, access issues, out of home care etc. /3
Discussion about the tendency to shift all responsibility for mental health to schools in ways that are not feasible. /4
Limited evaluations on what work in terms of schools implementing wellbeing policies, but Vic Auditor General report provides some guidance. /5
The section on workplace mental health is interesting although there appear to be a paucity of studies in this are. Focus of research seems to be on risk factors for a poor workplace mental health wise. /6
So, I do understand the sentiment a bit, but jeez Carolyn Davis - whoever you are - possibly not the best phrasing? 
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Good discussion about the nexus of social exclusion and mental ill health. Particular emphasis on people living in public housing. /8
Also good to see recognition on the role of loneliness on mental health. Someone can become socially disconnected because of poor mental health, or their mental health can suffer due to social disconnection. /9
There are very little evidence-based interventions to tackle loneliness. Unsurprising given it is a feature of modern societies, technologies, values etc. My gut is that it's a phenomena government action can't fix. /10
Very in-depth section on suicide prevention. This graph showing the impact particularly on restricting access to the means for suicide is striking. /11
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status, male sex, younger age and regionality are key risk factors for suicide. /12
However, like much mental health findings everything is very individual and tentative. With current risk factors being broad measures. /13
Chart of risk factors, vulnerabilities and interventions for suicide prevention.
Interventions are classified as 'universal' (targeting whole pop), 'selective' (targeting vulnerable groups) and 'indicated' (for people deemed 'at risk'). /14
Interventions are classified as 'universal' (targeting whole pop), 'selective' (targeting vulnerable groups) and 'indicated' (for people deemed 'at risk'). /14
Current evidence-based suicide prevention strategies. Interesting the note that we've probably exhausted avenues in terms of the "restriction of means". /15
Report notes the findings of Zalsman et al (2016) that many commonly cited suicide prevention initiatives lack evidence including "awareness" campaigns, media guidelines, suicide helplines etc. See: /16 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(16)30030-X/fulltext
In the section on improving services, there's an emphasis on GPs being a better gateway for consumers. This stuck out to me, particularly the lack of specialist referrals. /17
Although maybe I'm misinterpreting this? I imagine there are a lot of people going from counselling services to GPs for meds as well?
