AXA publishes its annual study of Mind Health and Wellbeing

AXA launches its 2022 edition of Mind Health and Wellbeing study. This study looks at the current state of mind health, examining how we react to stress, how we choose to diagnose mental illness, how mind health differs by age and gender and what individuals can do to improve their wellbeing. More than 11,000 participants were surveyed by IPSOS research institute, in eleven markets across Europe and Asia.

The study identifies gaps, prioritization of one's own mental health, and the urgency to raise awareness for preventative solutions. 36% of people say the pandemic boosted their ability to deal with difficult situations. Yet only 44% of those surveyed said they had felt happy or experienced joy in the past year. Respondents who find themselves happiest are in China (57%), Spain (50%) and Switzerland (54%), a high level compared to Japan (27%), Italy (37%) and France (39%).

When facing these challenges, only 37% of participants think the public health system in their country provides adequate support - this is particularly notable in Italy (24%) and UK (23%) while respondents seem to have greater trust in China (65%) and Switzerland (58%). Also 37% of people feel their employer provides good support when it comes to mind health, with the lowest level in Japan (20%) and Hong Kong (32%). This shows a major role for companies and health care systems in improving prevention, support, and care around mind health and wellbeing.

As such, AXA is taking concrete actions:

• The Group today announces the launch of the AXA Mind Health Index aiming to monitor progress made in mind health over time. The Index, tailored by country, will support individuals, businesses, healthcare professionals, and policymakers in their approach to mind health, to help them prevent illness, and promote wellbeing.
• Concrete and innovative solutions will continue to be developed for clients and employees through existing services such as Angel.fr deployed by AXA France, the Emma app by AXA Hong Kong, Be Supported helpline for employees and managers and Mental Health awareness training by AXA UK Health, a central Mental Health platform by AXA Germany, as well as other services in Spain and Italy, or AXA’s global health and wellness program for employees.
• Further offers will be deployed such as a new psychological consultation platform called Mind Healer for AXA Hong Kong customers, the mental wellbeing assessment in the new AXA Health UK app or Healthanea with Microsoft, which was launched across Europe in 2021.