Te Pou welcomes Government funding announcement for mental health and addiction prevalence study

Te Pou welcomes the announcement from the Minister of Mental Health Matt Doocey on Thursday 26 September that the Government will provide funding for the first study into the prevalence of mental health conditions and addiction in children and youth.

The study will make a substantive difference in helping to ensure the right services and supports are provided for children, young people and their families.

The data will provide reliable information which will allow the Government to make well-informed decisions about funding child and youth mental health and addiction supports and services.

It is more than 20 years since the last mental health and addiction prevalence study, Te Rau Hinengaro, which surveyed the population aged over 16. Data from that study has continued to be used.

For two years, Te Pou has worked with many others to build impetus for a series of interconnected mental health and addiction prevalence studies to provide more up-to-date information, starting with children and young people. The funding announcement is a major milestone for all those involved. It is a fantastic example of what can happen when organisations collaborate.

Te Pou particularly acknowledges the vision of the late Professor Richie Poulton, whose enthusiasm and determination energised so many people to support the call for this initiative. Professor Poulton, who was also a Te Pou board member and Wise Group trustee, was a powerful advocate for having robust, up-to-date data to better understand the mental health and addiction experiences of New Zealanders.

He told us: “We’ve been working off historical information, it may as well be information that goes back to when Shackleton was going down to the pole. It’s that old in real terms”.

Rae Lamb, Chief Executive of Te Pou, says, “Thursday's announcement shows that we can achieve great things when we work together even when it initially looks too big and expensive. An effective system needs good data to ensure the right care and supports are provided. We are looking forward to continuing our support for this work in any way we can.”

Read more about the urgent need for a series of prevalence studies and read our latest briefing on this work.