Predictors of mental health and potential for mental health promotion in a socially deprived urban neighborhood in Hamburg, Germany

Abstract

Background: In the EU two thirds of the population live in towns and cities and the trend of urbanization is set to increase. Cities must place health high on the agenda to maintain and improve health and quality of life. Special attention should be paid to mental health which is influenced by increased urban stressors. There is scientific evidence for many different factors that are associated with mental health. Mental disorders are increasing, and especially poor people are particularly vulnerable. Mental disorders account for 13% of the total GBD and by 2030 depression will be the leading cause of disease burden. Therefore, economic and social costs are enormously high. Methods: Primary data of the project ‘Health promotion and prevention in urban neighborhoods’ in Hamburg are used to investigate mental HRQOL in neighborhoods with different social status and to find predictors of mental HRQOL which are determined by multiple linear regression analysis. Furthermore, guided interviews are used to identify mental health promotion activities and needs to promote mental health and quality of life of adults in a socially disadvantaged neighborhood in Hamburg. Results: Very low social status neighborhoods have the lowest mean Mental Health score (x̄=48,02;