National adult mental health and well-being indicators for Scotland

Improving mental health is a national public health priority for Scotland. To date, there has been no assessment of the overall mental health of Scotland’s population, without which it is difficult to determine whether mental health is improving in Scotland or to track progress. Health Scotland was therefore commissioned by the Scottish Government’s National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Well-being to establish a core set of national, sustainable mental health indicators to support the Scottish Government’s drive on mental health improvement. These indicators, which will monitor the state of mental health in Scotland at a national level, are vital to the development of a comprehensive health monitoring system (for further information on the indicators work see www.healthscotland.com/understanding/population/mental-health-indicators.aspx).