JSNA Mental Health and Wellbeing Index
Mental health and wellbeing are key areas in public health. The most recent survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing in England found that one in six people aged 16+ had experienced symptoms of a common mental health problem, such as depression or anxiety, in the past week. (Source: Mental Health Statistics: prevalence, services and funding in England - House of Commons Library (Parliament.UK))
Improving people's mental health and wellbeing leads to other improvements across their lives, including
- building better social relationships
- improved productivity and attendance at work
- reducing the risk of physical health problems over time
To help us better understand mental health and wellbeing in our population, a mental health and wellbeing index has been produced for the Isle of Wight. This tool aims to assess the mental health and wellbeing of people and communities within each middle layer super output area across the county.
Middle layer super output areas (MSOAs) are a census statistical geography and contain between 2,000 and 6,000 households and usually have a resident population of between 5,000 and 15,000 people. There are currently 18 MSOAs across the Island.
This index is based on the domains of the Wellbeing and Resilience Measure (WARM) which were chosen because of their suitability for assessing wellbeing at a small area level. The tool aims to draw on national and local data to provide a means of understanding and identifying an area's strengths, such as qualifications, social capital and enabling infrastructure; as well as vulnerabilities such as social isolation, high crime and unemployment.
There are three domains which can be combined to examine an overall index or analysed separately.
Limitations: The Index is limited by the availability of relevant data at MSOA level. Some of the data used within the Index are modelled from known socio-economic characteristics rather than collected directly. Some of the indicators will be correlated with one another or drawn from the same source of data. As a result, the Index is not intended to be used as a standalone tool but within the context of local knowledge and other available data.
Health Check. Over this period there has show a slight decrease to 49.6% in the five years 2021/22 from a high point of 52.7% in the five years to 2019/2020