Table 1.
Characteristics of individuals on their first recorded contact with the Western Australian state funded mental health service over age 18 years since 2005
| Western Australian population in 2021a N (%) | Current study n (%) | Mental health care setting at first contact | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community (%) | Emergency department (%) | Inpatient (%) | |||
| All (age ≥ 18 years) | 2,122,191 | 392,238 | 48.6 | 39.8 | 11.7 |
| Age | |||||
| 18–24 years | 227,916 (10.7) | 89,283 (22.8) | 47.2 | 45.1 | 7.7 |
| 25–34 years | 391,233 (18.4) | 83,025 (21.2) | 53.8 | 38.3 | 7.9 |
| 35–44 years | 391,912 (18.5) | 62,997 (16.1) | 51.4 | 37.9 | 10.7 |
| 45–54 years | 357,981 (16.9) | 45,678 (11.6) | 48.6 | 38.7 | 12.7 |
| 55–64 years | 321,265 (15.1) | 30,986 (7.9) | 49.0 | 37.3 | 13.7 |
| 65–74 years | 249,543 (11.8) | 25,602 (6.5) | 48.1 | 37.7 | 14.2 |
| ≥ 75 years | 182,341 (8.6) | 54,667 (13.9) | 39.5 | 38.9 | 21.6 |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 1,053,185 (49.6) | 181,250 (46.2) | 45.7 | 42.8 | 11.5 |
| Female | 1,069,006 (50.4) | 210,934 (53.8) | 51.0 | 37.2 | 11.8 |
| Intersex or indeterminate | – | 17 (< 0.1) | 76.5 | 23.5 | 0 |
| Missing | – | 37 (< 0.1) | 97.3 | 2.7 | 0 |
| Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status | |||||
| Yes | 88,693 (3.2) | 29,785 (7.6) | 42.8 | 48.1 | 9.1 |
| No | 2,661,171 (96.8) | 351,635 (89.6) | 48.5 | 39.3 | 12.2 |
| Missing | – | 10,818 (2.8) | 67.1 | 32.9 | 0 |
| Residential remoteness | |||||
| Major cities | 1,747,292 (78.7) | 237,340 (60.5) | 48.6 | 39.3 | 12.2 |
| Inner regional | 194,267 (8.8) | 61,484 (15.7) | 48.1 | 39.2 | 12.6 |
| Outer regional | 156,306 (7.0) | 32,256 (8.2) | 49.6 | 39.0 | 11.4 |
| Remote | 69,469 (3.1) | 20,304 (5.2) | 51.6 | 38.3 | 10.1 |
| Very remote | 52,440 (2.4) | 22,102 (5.6) | 45.4 | 44.2 | 10.4 |
| Missing | – | 18,752 (4.8) | 48.5 | 46.1 | 5.4 |
| Socioeconomic status | |||||
| Quintile 1 (Most disadvantaged) | 50,366 (1.9) | 16,380 (4.2) | 42.8 | 47.0 | 10.3 |
| Quintile 2 | 220,557 (8.3) | 18,341 (4.7) | 51.3 | 37.3 | 11.5 |
| Quintile 3 | 562,468 (21.2) | 53,724 (13.7) | 50.8 | 38.0 | 11.3 |
| Quintile 4 | 741,194 (27.9) | 122,253 (31.2) | 44.9 | 45.9 | 9.2 |
| Quintile 5 (Least disadvantaged) | 1,079,150 (40.7) | 162,788 (41.5) | 50.9 | 34.6 | 14.5 |
| Missing | – | 18,752 (4.8) | 48.5 | 46.1 | 5.4 |
aWestern Australian population aged ≥ 18 years for age and sex categories; aged ≥ 0 years for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status and socioeconomic status categories; aged ≥ 15 years for residential remoteness categories; (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022; Hodges et al., 2020; Hoek, 2006)