Improving the physical health of people living with mental illness in Australia and New Zealand

People diagnosed with mental illness have relativelypoor physical health and die earlier than their counter-parts in the general population. People living withmental illness in rural Australia have three times therisk of premature death than the total population. Thisarticle reviews recent international, Australian andNew Zealand research, identifies the increased risk ofearly death of people living with mental health issuesin rural settings and looks at the need for policy andpractice responses. The ‘Equally Well’ national initia-tives are described in Australia and New Zealand,which seek to systematically address this inequity as amatter of priority. Finally, it argues for co-design andconsumer participation in policy development, pro-gram implementation and research. Improved under-standing of the perspectives and priorities of peoplewith experience of mental illness is vital if change is tobe fully realised.