Abstract
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has been providing support to the Australian Government Department of Health to report on mental health-related data to Australian governments on a frequent basis since April 2020 in the form of COVID-19 mental health services data dashboards. These dashboards feature extensive use of data visualizations which illustrate the change in mental health service use over time as well as comparisons with pre-pandemic levels of service use. Data are included from the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS/RPBS), Australian Government-funded crisis and support organizations, and key findings from emerging research. Demand for telehealth, crisis and support organizations and online mental health information services, in particular, have increased during the pandemic. The dashboards incorporate both new and existing data sources and represent an innovative way of reporting mental health services data to Australian governments. The reporting has enabled timely, targeted adjustments to mental health service delivery during the pandemic with improved cooperative data sharing arrangements having the potential to yield ongoing benefits.
Highlights
The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and wellbeing has been significant
An environment scan and literature review were conducted to determine the range of Australian research and data holdings that were being established in relation to COVID-19 and mental health
Over 15.0 million Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS)-subsidized mental health-related services were delivered in the dashboards to help illustrate differences between pre-pandemic, early pandemic and more recent data
Summary
The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and wellbeing has been significant. The potential for this impact was recognized early in the pandemic and includes the direct health impacts of COVID-19 and fear of contagion, as well as the broader social and economic disruption [1]. The social, economic and mental health and wellbeing impacts of restrictions have been significant. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has a long history in reporting mental health data, through the Mental Health Services in Australia report and more recently the National Suicide and Self-harm Monitoring Project, a collaboration between the AIHW, the National Mental Health Commission and the Australian Government Department of Health (DoH), funded by the DoH. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
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