Characteristics of Australians who reported consulting a psychologist for a health problem: An analysis of data from the 1989-90 national health survey

Abstract

The National Health Survey is a large household survey of the health of Australians. Data from the survey indicate that around 43,000 Australians consulted a psychologist over a two-week period, mostly for common mental health problems. Consulting a psychologist was more common among boys than girls (prevalences of 279 and 140 per 100,000), but with young and middle-aged adults the prevalence rate was higher in women than men (389 versus 275 per 100,000). The elderly had a very low prevalence of consultation (86 and 38 per 100,000 for women and men respectively). Prevalence of consultation was higher in the better educated, the unemployed, in residents of capital cities and among the divorced/separated/widowed. These differences were compared to published epidemiological data to identify groups which might be disadvantaged in terms of access to psychological services.