Exploring severe mental illness (psychosis) in Far North Queensland

Onnis, Leigh-Ann;Hunter, Ernest;Nelson, Jeffrey;Gynther, Bruce;Anderson, Carrick

Abstract

[Extract] Mental illness contributes to the high burden of disease for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (Vos et al., 2009; Swan & Raphael, 1995). Findings from a recent study by the Rural & Remote Mental Health Service (RRAMHS) who provide outreach ser vices to the communities of Cape York and the Torres Strait regions of Far North Queensland suggest that there may be a need to learn more about severe mental illness in this region. The Cape York and Torres Strait region of Far North Queensland covers 7.5% of the total area of Queensland, with approximately 0.5% of the state's population residing in the region (OE SR,2010) RRAMHS provide regular specialist psychiatric outreach services to this remote population of whom approximately 20,000 are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. The two regional psychiatrists, who together have roughly thirty years experience working in the region, suspected that particular types of mental illnesses were increasing in members of the Indigenous populations.

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Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal

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1037-3403

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Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker

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