FAQ: Frequently Asked Question

Frequently asked questions

Does the index evaluate mental illness in each territory?

No. Although it includes indicators for morbidity and mortality, the index has as its goal to show where the environment is more favorable to the promotion of good mental health for the population, bringing data to serve as a basis for measures which prevent illness. Its interpretation starts from an outlook based on the set of the 5 mental health domains, which see the individual and their context in a multifactoral manner, not to be interpreted based on isolated indicators.

What are the mental health domains?

The project used the Jyrki Korkeila and collaborators' Mental Health Domains as a methodological foundation. Originally, the methodology establishes eight domains, that is, categories which group correlated indicators and that have been proven to interfere in the promotion of populations' mental health. Considering the availability of Brazilian databases and the project's target group (children), some domains were grouped, leading to a set of five domains which better reflect the Brazilian reality. They are:

1. Access, use and demand of health services

2. Stressful events

3. Morbidity in health

4. Positive social relations

5. Sociodemographic aspects

How were the indicators selected?

For the construction of the Matrix of Indicators, the first stage consisted of a literature review. Scientific articles and monitoring data from public entities and international agencies which establish connections between specific factors and mental health promotion were collected. This first stage resulted in a list of 222 indicators which would be pertinent to the construction of the Mental Health Promotion Index. Following that, 29 indicators were selected which needed:

• to be based on public data available on information systems and be sufficiently complete (populational surveys were not included);

• to be accessible down to the municipal level;

• to fit the scope of one of the five adapted mental health domains;

• to be about the factors which affect children;

• to be current* (For the possibility of a temporal analysis, data from 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 were utilized, except for the HDI data for which the latest available are from 2010).

Why are there no data disaggregated by race?

Although an intentional effort was made to collect data disaggregated by race for the 29 gathered indicators, many limitations were found. Some indicators did not have this information available and, when available, data presented inconsistencies, being available only in some municipalities and states, but not in others. This prevents the complete analysis of racial data in an integrated and effective manner, limiting the view to raw numbers and specific locations.

This situation exposes the fragility of public information and the urgent necessity of improving the collection and quality of data in the country. Consistent evidence is essential for defining priorities and investing in effective public policies. In order to stop the cycle of inequalities, it is crucial to implement health promotion and illness prevention policies which consider the particularities of the black population.

What are the indicators that compose the index?

To access all the indicators, see the technical cards here. See the full list