A survey of psychological wellbeing in an adult population

Barr, W., Kirkcaldy, A., Robinson, J. , Poustie, V. J. and Capewell, S. (2005) A survey of psychological wellbeing in an adult population. British Journal of Community Nursing, 10(6), pp. 260-265. (doi: 10.12968/bjcn.2005.10.6.18163) (PMID:15944508)

Abstract

The British government has called on all NHS staff to help promote good psychological wellbeing in the population. This article reports results from a survey conducted in Merseyside, England, into the prevalence of poor psychological wellbeing across a large part of the region. People registered with one of five Merseyside primary care trusts were stratified by age group and deprivation, and a questionnaire was mailed to 28000 who had been randomly selected from those aged 15 or over. A total of 11168 (45%) completed questionnaires were returned. Of these, 2442 (21.9%) respondents rated their psychological wellbeing as fairly poor or very poor. Mean levels of psychological wellbeing were significantly worse in a number of readily identifiable groups within the population, but overall, the lowest wellbeing ratings were concentrated in the most socioeconomically deprived quartile. We make a number of practical suggestions for the role of the community nurse in promoting good psychological wellbeing in patients. We also highlight our finding that socioeconomic deprivation was strongly associated with poor psychological wellbeing, which was in turn associated with a lifestyle high in risk factors for non-communicable diseases.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Robinson, Professor Jude
• Authors: Barr, W., Kirkcaldy, A., Robinson, J., Poustie, V. J., and Capewell, S.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences
• Journal Name: British Journal of Community Nursing
• Publisher: Mark Allen Healthcare
• ISSN: 1462-4753