Health inequalities and the health needs of people with mental illness

Abstract

This article describes a study that used the Western Australian Linked Database (WALD)— which links together major sources of health data for the population of Western Australia (WA)—to examine rates of hospitalisation and death due to physical illnesses for users of mental health services. The aim of the study was to compare the physical health of people with mental illness with that of the general population, in order to provide information that can be used in designing health promotion and disease control activities that can be tailored for people with mental illness.