Mental Health Month (January 2020)
Introduction
A number of mental health rehabilitation organisations and public institutes co-organise Mental Health Month activities in October every year to disseminate mental health messages to the public through various public education and promotion activities. The theme in 2020 was " Enjoy Mental Wellness. Seek Support from Others".
Research period: January 2020
Target population: People living in Hong Kong aged 15 years or above who communicated in Cantonese.
Objectives
- To assess the mental health status of the general Hong Kong population
- To study the impact of social issues on the mental health status of the general Hong Kong population.
Methods
The survey was conducted by a local research centre. Phone numbers including household and mobile numbers, were randomly drawn from the government’s Numbering Plan. The questionnaire consists of the WHO-5 Well-being Index survey [1], items on the impact of varied social issues including social controversial issues, schoolwork, job-related, health, financial status, future, family, children, living environment, and relationships, and the sources of emotional support and help-seeking intention.
Results
- A total of 1004 people completed the telephone survey.
- A significant declined in mental well-being index score from 46.41 ± 20.09 in 2019 to 44.48 ± 19.67 in 2020 was observed (p=0.030) (highest possible score: 100).
- Compared with year 2019, significant change in mental well-being status was found in 2020 (p=0.042). People with poor mental well-being (i.e. scored below 52) increased from 56.4% in 2019 to 61.9% in 2020. People with moderate or good mental well-being also decreased in 2020 (Fig. 1).
- 60.4% reported that social controversies had a major or quite influential negative impact on their mental health, followed by schoolwork (45.7%) and job issues (37.5%) (Fig. 2).
- Most respondents revealed they could obtain adequate emotional support from friends (75.9%), family (73.1%), and colleagues (59.2%).
Figure 1. Comparison of WHO-5 Well-being categories of the Hong Kong population in 2019 and early 2020
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Figure 2. The negative impact of social issues on the mental health of the general Hong Kong population in early 2020. |
Conclusion
Compared with that in 2019, the mental well-being of the general Hong Kong population was getting worse in 2020. The outbreak of COVID-19 might contribute to the exacerbation of community mental wellness. Sixty percent of the respondents had a poor mental health status. The Government and the relevant authorities should formulate appropriate strategies as soon as possible and implement various measures and services in a multi-pronged manner to improve the mental health in the community.
References
1. Topp, C. W., Østergaard, S. D., Søndergaard, S., & Bech, P. (2015). The WHO-5 Well-Being Index: a systematic review of the literature. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 84(3), 167-176.
