Measuring mental health and mental health indicators

This section will incorporate information from a number of national and EC funded projects concerned with identifying indicators that could form a basis for measuring mental health and well-being. An important project in this respect is MINDFUL. This is currently the most comprehensive attempt at widening the scope of mental health monitoring by covering mental ill-health, positive mental health, mental health promotion, and the prevention of mental disorders.

Positive mental health

This will include outcomes from the European quality of life survey (EQLS) that was carried out in 2003, covering 28 countries and interviewing 26,000 people. The report revealed, among other things, that levels of individual wellbeing reflect levels of national prosperity. Dissatisfaction, unhappiness and feelings of alienation are concentrated in Europe’s poorer regions.

This section will also refer to the preliminary outcomes of the MINDFUL project, through which suggestions have come forward for positive mental health indicators, such as: ’Energy, vitality’ and ‘Happiness’

Negative mental health

Here, we plan to include information on overall ill health, and information based on indicators such as psychological distress, depression, and suicide, with links to EUphacts on depression and suicide. These EUphacts will be prepared by priority.

As in most EUphacts, the information on depression and suicide will address occurrence and trends; differences between population groups (m/f/age), and socio-economic differences.