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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Mental Health and Mental Disorders

Goal: Improve mental health.

A young woman talks to a therapist, who sits across from her and holds a pen and clipboard.

About half of all people in the United States will be diagnosed with a mental disorder at some point in their lifetime.1  Healthy People 2030 focuses on the prevention, screening, assessment, and treatment of mental disorders and behavioral conditions. The Mental Health and Mental Disorders objectives also aim to improve health and quality of life for people affected by these conditions.

Mental disorders affect people of all age and racial/ethnic groups, but some populations are disproportionately affected. And estimates suggest that only half of all people with mental disorders get the treatment they need.2  

In addition, mental health and physical health are closely connected. Mental disorders like depression and anxiety can affect people’s ability to take part in healthy behaviors. Similarly, physical health problems can make it harder for people to get treatment for mental disorders. Increasing screening for mental disorders can help people get the treatment they need. 

Objective Status

  • 2 Target met or exceeded
  • 0 Improving
  • 6 Little or no detectable change
  • 2 Getting worse
  • 5 Baseline only
  • 8 Developmental
  • 3 Research

Learn more about objective types

Related Objectives

The following is a sample of objectives related to this topic. Some objectives may include population data.

Mental Health and Mental Disorders — General

Increase the proportion of people with substance use and mental health disorders who get treatment for both — MHMD‑07
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of primary care visits where adolescents and adults are screened for depression — MHMD‑08
Little or no detectable change

Adolescents

Increase the proportion of adolescents with depression who get treatment — MHMD‑06
LHI label
Target met or exceeded
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents with symptoms of trauma who get treatment — AH‑D02
Developmental
Increase the number of children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance who get treatment — MHMD‑D01
Developmental

Cancer

Increase quality of life for cancer survivors — C‑R01
Research

Children

Increase the proportion of children and adolescents with ADHD who get appropriate treatment — EMC‑04
Little or no detectable change
Increase the proportion of children with autism spectrum disorder who receive special services by age 4 years — MICH‑18
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of children with mental health problems who get treatment — MHMD‑03
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents who get appropriate treatment for anxiety or depression — EMC‑D04
Developmental
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents who get appropriate treatment for behavior problems — EMC‑D05
Developmental
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents who get preventive mental health care in school — EMC‑D06
Developmental

Health Care

Increase the proportion of adults with depression who get treatment — MHMD‑05
Little or no detectable change
Increase the proportion of adults with serious mental illness who get treatment — MHMD‑04
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of homeless adults with mental health problems who get mental health services — MHMD‑R01
Research

Hospital and Emergency Services

Reduce emergency department visits related to nonmedical use of prescription opioids — MPS‑02
Target met or exceeded

Injury Prevention

Reduce the suicide rate — MHMD‑01
LHI label
Little or no detectable change
Reduce suicide attempts by adolescents — MHMD‑02
Getting worse

LGBT

Reduce suicidal thoughts in lesbian, gay, or bisexual high school students — LGBT‑06
Baseline only
Reduce suicidal thoughts in transgender students — LGBT‑D02
Developmental

Parents or Caregivers

Reduce anxiety and depression in family caregivers of people with disabilities — DH‑D01
Developmental

People with Disabilities

Reduce the proportion of adults with disabilities who delay preventive care because of cost — DH‑01
Little or no detectable change
Reduce the proportion of adults with disabilities who experience serious psychological distress — DH‑02
Baseline only

Pregnancy and Childbirth

Increase the proportion of women who get screened for postpartum depression — MICH‑D01
Developmental

Schools

Increase the proportion of public schools with a counselor, social worker, and psychologist — AH‑R09
Research

Violence Prevention

Reduce emergency department visits for nonfatal intentional self-harm injuries — IVP‑19
Little or no detectable change

Other topics you may be interested in

References

1.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Mental Health: Data and Publications. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/data_publications/index.htm

2.

National Institutes of Mental Health. (2018). Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/index.shtml