Person—source of information on a mental health condition, code N

Identifying and definitional attributes
Metadata item type:	Data Element
Short name:	Source of information indicating mental illness
METEOR identifier:	400112
Registration status:	Homelessness, Superseded 10/08/2018 Housing assistance, Standard 23/08/2010
Definition:	Source of information available that indicates a person may have a mental illness or mental health condition, as represented by a code.
Data Element Concept:	Person—source of information on a mental health condition

Value domain attributes

Representational attributes

Representation class:

Code

Data type:

Number

Format:

Maximum character length:

Permissible values:

Value	Meaning
1	Agency worker
2	Health professional
3	Non-government agency
4	Family, friends, carers
5	Self-identified
6	Other

Supplementary values:

Value	Meaning
9	Not stated/inadequately described

Collection and usage attributes

Guide for use:

CODE 1 Agency worker

The person appears to the agency worker to have an undiagnosed mental health condition.

CODE 2 Health professional

The person has been diagnosed with a mental health condition by a doctor, nurse or other health professional.

CODE 3 Non-government agency

A non-government agency offering disability support programs, or a local community support program, whose target population includes those with a mental illness.

CODE 4 Family, friends, carers

Family, carers, friends or others who know the applicant well, and are concerned that the person may have an undiagnosed mental illness.

CODE 5 Self-identified

The person reports that they have a mental illness but does not have contact with specialised mental health service or other relevant service providers at this point in time.

Data element attributes

Collection and usage attributes

Collection methods:

The permissible values for this data element are used to form the response categories to the question:

"Is there additional information about the client, either formal or informal, that indicates a mental health condition?"

Comments:

This data element is based on the PHaMs (Personal Helpers and Mentors Program) screening tool; it is a useful flag for mental health issues where more accurate evidence is not available.