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Unequally Unwell: Shorter life expectancies, reduced life opportunities of people with mental illness

Topic:
Mental Health
Facilitated by:
Primary Health Tasmania
Speaker:
Professor Russell Roberts - Chief Executive Officer, Equally Well
Date and time:
Wednesday 30 October - 1:00pm to 2:15pm
Location:
Online via Zoom
Audience:
People working in Mental Health, Primary Care – GPs, people working in Chronic Health Conditions, Allied Health, Tasmanian Department of Health – Statewide Mental Health Services, Centre for Mental Health Services Innovation, Mental Health Council of Tasmania.

People living with mental illness may have poorer physical health and a reduced life expectancy than that of the general population. They often have a chronic physical health condition and/or are less likely to have regular health screenings such as cholesterol and blood glucose checks and cancer screenings than the general population.

Professor Russell Roberts CEO – Equally Well, will present the findings of the report Unequally Unwell  (Mortality of people using Australian Government – funded mental health services and prescription medications): Analysis of 2016 Census, Death Registry, MBS and PBS Data.

Factsheet: Unequally Unwell: Shorter life expectancies, reduced life opportunities

Learning outcomes:

  • Insights into the findings of the Unequally Unwell Report 2024.
  • Data on the number of preventable deaths from chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and respiratory disease
  • Opportunities to enhance the physical health of people living with a mental health condition

Speaker information:

Russell Roberts is Professor of Management and Leadership at Charles Sturt University with a focus on mental health. He is National Director of Equally Well Australia (tasked to oversee the national implementation actions of the National Consensus Statement to improve the physical health of people living with mental illness) and Chair of the Equally Well Symposium. He is Chair of the Australian Rural and Remote Mental Health Symposium, a Chief Investigator on the Rural Universities Network mental health research collaborative, on the board of the ANZ Mental Health Association and Clinical Associate Professor at University of Sydney. Russell has extensive experience as a researcher having published over 100 refereed journal articles, books and book chapters, 70 conference presentations, 18 keynote speeches, with $12.725m in research grant funding and over 4,750 citations of his research work.