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The Commonwealth Government has reinvested in the prevention of mental ill-health, announcing $2.1million of continued funding to support valuable research initiatives for the prevention of anxiety and depression through The Prevention Hub.
The funding announcement is welcomed by the Black Dog Institute and Everymind, which supports innovative translational research to improve and accelerate the uptake and impact of programs across settings and across communities.
In any one year, over two million Australians will experience anxiety and a further one million will be affected by depression. It is estimated that preventive strategies could lower the incidence of anxiety and depression by 20%, which if delivered at scale would mean 60,000 cases per year in Australia.
Everymind Acting Director, Associate Professor Carmel Loughland says the continued funding will allow an opportunity to build on current research priorities identified through the Hub.
“Everymind welcomes the extension of funding for The Prevention Hub and is looking forward to continue working closely with the Black Dog Institute on preventative research in depression and anxiety. This funding will enable us to continue to implement and evaluate effective scalable programs that prevent anxiety and depression in our communities, particularly those impacted by COVID-19 and the recent bushfires.”
“We are thrilled that this funding will allow The Prevention Hub to continue to deliver and evaluate scalable prevention programs. In the context of the pandemic, we know that 3 in 4 people in Australia are experiencing psychological distress. This investment will assist in making sure that we avert the development of mental ill health into the future,” says Helen Christensen, Director of the Black Dog Institute.
“This will help to protect the mental health of small business owners, teachers, children and adolescents, carers, and healthcare workers, among others.”
The funding commitment was made by Minister for Health, The Hon. Greg Hunt MP as part of the Government’s Budget 2020-21 announcement yesterday.
For the Minister’s release, visit: https://bit.ly/33GWQcN
Published: 7 October 2020
