The Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic is currently conducting an Epidemiological Study on Mental Disorders in Slovak Population, which is part of the reform of mental health. The aim of the study is to map the occurrence of the most common mental disorders in the population on a representative sample, to evaluate their impact on quality of life and the use of mental health care services.
The results of the study will help to identify mental health needs of the population and the availability of services. Based on these findings, it will be possible to make targeted prevention of mental disorders and to promote mental health. Professional guarantors of the study are Prof. Alexandra Bražinová, doc. Michal Hajdúk and doc. Maria Kráľová from Comenius University in Bratislava and Prof. Marek Majdan from Trnava University.
Further information on the Epidemiological study
The proposed study will bring unique, yet non-existent data on the incidence of the most common mental disorders of the adult population in relation to age, gender, educational attainment and other broader social and economic contexts, and on the relationship of risk factors to the emergence and the course of these mental disorders, their overall impact on society and the use or lack of mental health care services.
Study Characteristics
This is a cross-cutting study mapping the incidence of most common mental disorders in the adult population of the Slovak Republic. The study focuses on the detection of particularly affective disorders, anxiety disorders and alcohol dependence through an internationally used standardised tool on a representative sample of the adult population. The secondary objective is to assess the impact of these disorders on psychosocial functioning, quality of life, health indicators and the use of mental health care services.
Primary endpoint
Identify the prevalence of selected mental disorders in the adult population of the Slovak Republic.
Secondary objectives
Evaluate the impact of individual symptoms of selected mental disorders on quality of life and functionality. Identify the availability and use of mental health care services. Identify the treatment gap, identify barriers and define population groups at the highest risk of not using services in the event of mental disorders.
Expected benefit of the study
The study will provide information on the prevalence of the most common mental disorders in the population, in individual population groups by gender, age and other relevant demographic variables, as well as the impact of the presence of mental disorders on the overall functioning of man. Another benefit is better knowledge of the proportion of untreated mental disorders in the adult population. The results of the study will allow to describe the mental health of the population of the Slovak Republic and compare the incidence of mental disorders in the international context. The results will serve to decide on effective measures and policies for setting up and planning mental health care of the adult population in the Slovak Republic.