The Foundation Reports is a series of in-depth reports examining mental health inequality in the UK.
Through this research-led work, we're exploring population mental health across the four nations of the UK, the things that are contributing to inequalities, and what can be done to prevent people experiencing mental ill-health.
Poor mental health has risen in the UK over the past two decades. This increase has not been experienced equally across all communities, leading to widening mental health inequalities within and between the four nations.
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The state of mental health inequality in the UK
This new landmark report shows that we are in a mental health crisis, that it is getting worse, and it is hitting young people especially hard.
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Tackling mental health inequalities
This report examines six key factors, identified by a panel of 51 experts, which are likely to have the greatest impact on reducing rates of poor mental health and mental health inequalities.
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The four nations have followed strikingly different mental health trends over time. In Wales, a post-pandemic spike in poor mental health drove levels much higher than the UK average. Northern Ireland recorded the steepest recent rise in poor mental health, reversing a decade of better-than-average population wellbeing. England and Scotland have followed similar paths, falling between Wales and Northern Ireland.
Financial hardship is the strongest driver of mental health inequality. Disparities in mental health between those who are financially comfortable versus those who are struggling have significantly widened. The number of people in the UK experiencing financial insecurity has grown as well.