Image: Natalya Bardushka / Shutterstock.com.
Most Europeans view mental and physical health issues as equally serious but doubt their society shares the same view.
Efforts to ensure that mental health receives equal importance as physical health – known as achieving “parity of esteem” – have been a key focus in global healthcare for many years.
A recent YouGov EuroTrack study reveals that most individuals in seven European countries, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden, personally believe that mental and physical health problems are of equal seriousness.
Among those surveyed, Britons were the most likely to hold this view, with 76 per cent agreeing that the two types of health issues are equally important.
Societal Attitudes
Despite these personal convictions, respondents generally believed their societies prioritise physical health more than mental health.
This belief was most common in Denmark and the UK, where 59 per cent of people thought their nation regarded physical health as more important than mental health. In France, this figure was lower but still notable at 36 per cent.
In contrast, around 30 per cent of people in Spain, Germany, France, and Italy thought their societies treated mental and physical health problems with equal concern, while fewer than 20 per cent in Britain, Denmark, and Sweden held this view.
Only a small percentage of respondents (7-14 per cent) across all countries believed that mental health issues were taken more seriously by society.
Physical Health
The UK was the only country in the survey where a higher proportion of respondents thought physical health conditions were generally considered more serious than mental health conditions, with 15 per cent expressing this view compared to 6 per cent who saw mental health as the bigger issue.
In contrast, Spain showed the reverse trend, with 21 per cent of people considering mental health issues as more serious than physical ones, compared to just 7 per cent who prioritised physical health.
Similar patterns were observed in Germany, France, Italy, and Sweden, where 17-20 per cent viewed mental health as more critical than physical health, with 9-12 per cent focusing more on physical health concerns.
Mental Health
Although different health conditions vary in severity, the study also explored how Europeans perceive a range of common mental health problems.
In each country surveyed, a majority of people viewed mental health issues as serious.
Depression was regarded as a serious condition by 80-89 per cent of respondents, while 60-79 per cent saw anxiety as a serious problem, these being the two most prevalent mental health issues.
The level of concern for mental health conditions was comparable to the concern shown for various physical health issues, indicating that most Europeans acknowledge the potential severity of mental health problems alongside physical ones.