Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ17: Prevention of depression
Following is a question by the Hon Li Kwok-ying and a written reply by the
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council
today (June 1):
Question :
It has been reported that while the number of patients with depressive illness
has increased substantially in recent years, the general public lack
understanding and show little concern about the illness. In this connection,
will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of patients who were diagnosed in the past three years as
having developed depressive illness, together with a breakdown by their age and
gender;
(b) whether it has assessed the pressure on public health care services and the
negative impact on the economy brought about by the increase in the number of
patients with depressive illness; if so, of the assessment result;
(c) of the publicity and educational programmes for enhancing the public's
understanding of and ability to identify depressive illness; and
(d) whether it will accept the suggestion to designate April 1 each year as
Depressive Illness Awareness Day; if so, when it will be implemented; if not, of
the justifications for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The number of patients diagnosed with depressive illness and treated in
public hospitals and clinics over the past three years were 16 561 in 2002-03,
18 586 in 2003-04 and 21 240 in 2004-05. A breakdown of these patients by sex
and age are shown in
Table 1 and 2.
(b) The Administration has not conducted a detailed study on the impact of
depressive disorders in Hong Kong. However, according the World Health Report
2001 - Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope by the World Health
Organisation, unipolar depressive disorders place an enormous burden on society
and are ranked as the fourth leading cause of burden among all diseases,
accounting for 4.4 per cent of the total disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).
This effectively means that 4.4 per cent of total time lost by the community due
to illnesses can be attributed to depression.
(c) Public education on mental health plays an important part in the prevention
of depression. The objective is to help the general public recognise the causes
and symptoms of mental illness, educate them about the importance of early
treatment to prevent the onset of residual disability, and to inform them of the
available treatment and rehabilitation services. Current publicity and
educational programmes on mental health and depression include -
* The Mental Health Month, which is an annual territory-wide publicity campaign
comprising seminars, workshops, exhibitions and road shows on mental health.
* The Elderly Suicide Prevention Programme, which is aimed at raising public
awareness of the problems of depression and suicide among the elderly and
encouraging early treatment.
* Mental health education for the elderly provided through the Elderly Health
Centres and Visiting Health Teams.
* Outreach Adolescent Health Programme for promoting, among other things,
psychosocial health among secondary school students.
* Educational activities in Maternal and Child Health Centres for the prevention
of postnatal depression.
* Provision of mental health education material through various publications
(e.g. leaflets, resource handbooks and video CDs); multi-media channels (e.g.
newspaper columns, special segments on television and radio programmes and
Announcements in the Public Interest); talks and seminars; web pages; telephone
hotlines; exhibitions and road shows.
(d) The Administration will keep the current publicity and educational
programmes on mental health and depression under review. At the present moment,
we do not have any intention of designating April 1 as the Depressive Illness
Awareness Day.
Ends/Wednesday, June 1, 2005
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