Emotional Wellbeing
Program Coordinator: All Primary Healthcare Staff
P: 08 8971 9300 | E: N/A | M: N/A

At Katherine West Health Board, we recognize that emotional wellbeing is crucial to physical wellness.
Social & Emotional Wellbeing supports the strategies and programs that encourage the development of social skills, a healthy lifestyle and resiliency in our clients. Emotional wellbeing is vitally important, as a person who is sound of mind is more likely to take better care of themselves.

 

The social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous Australians

Key findings from the 2004-05 NATSIHS were:

 

1. Over one-quarter (27%) of Indigenous adults reported high or very high levels of psychological distress.

2. Indigenous Australians were twice as likely to report high or very high levels of psychological distress as non-Indigenous Australians.

3. Almost one in 10 Indigenous Australians had visited a doctor or health professional in the 4 weeks prior to interview due to feelings of psychological distress.

4. In relation to life stressors, four in 10 Indigenous adults indicated that they or their family or friends had experienced the death of a family member or close friend in the previous year, 28% reported serious illness or disability and 20% reported alcohol-related problems.


On the other hand:

1. Over half of Indigenous adults reported feeling calm and peaceful (51%) and/or full of life (55%) all or most of the time.

2. Nearly three-quarters (71%) reported being happy in the last 4 weeks.

3. Other data sources also indicated that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have poorer social and emotional wellbeing than non-Indigenous Australians:

 

The rate of community mental health service contacts for Indigenous people was more than twice that for non-Indigenous people.  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were twice as likely to be hospitalised for intentional self-harm as non-Indigenous people.