Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
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Mental health problems and service use in the Irish
population: findings from the HRB National Psychological
Wellbeing and Distress Survey
Donna T Doherty (PhD)
Health Research Board,
Third Floor, Knockmaun House,
42 – 47 Lower Mount Street,
Dublin 2
01 2345140
dtedstonedoherty@hrb.ie
Ros Moran (MA)
Health Research Board,
Third Floor, Knockmaun House,
42 – 47 Lower Mount Street,
Dublin 2
01 2345146
rmoran@hrb.ie
Introduction
There is little information available on the level of psychological
distress in the Irish population or the use of health care services
and professionals by individuals experiencing mental health
problems. The Health Research Board (HRB) National Psychological
Wellbeing and Distress Survey (NPWDS) sought to address this gap
in information. It is envisaged that the survey will be completed
every two years to identify trends and monitor changes and to
assist national planning and evaluation of mental health in the Irish
population. In addition, the survey will be used to carry out
research on the determinants and correlates of psychological
distress and service use and to explore the relationship with
underlying psychological theoretical concepts. This is the first report
from the series. It is important to stress that this report details
descriptive baseline data only, while future work will exploit the
data to address a range of research questions relating to
psychological wellbeing and distress in the Irish population.
Methods
The NPWDS was a telephone survey of a nationally representative
random sample of 2,711 adults aged 18 years and over and living in
private households. The data were collected by the Economic and
Social Research Institute (ESRI) between the period December 2005
and April 2006 over three two-week intervals. Telephone numbers
were drawn on a random, probability basis. In order to ensure
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