Executive summary

Abstract

The OECD publication Fit Mind, Fit Job, published in 2015, concluded that an integrated whole‑of-government approach was needed to tackle the poor social, education and employment outcomes of individuals with mental health conditions. Living with such conditions makes it harder to stay and do well in school, to transition to higher education or work, to work effectively and productively, and to stay employed. Changing this is not a task for the health system alone but one that must involve all policy fields. Particularly large improvements can come from measures in four policy areas, namely youth, workplace, welfare and health policy. The importance of policy interventions in these four policy areas was already recognised across OECD countries, all of whom have adhered to the OECD Recommendation on Integrated Mental Health, Skills and Work Policy. This Recommendation sets out principles on how countries can strengthen mental health policies through coherent action across three dimensions, including: i) the involvement of front-line stakeholders not normally seen as mental-health actors (the “who” of a good policy approach), ii) a focus on early identification and early intervention in all policy areas (the “when”), and iii) the provision of integrated health, education and employment services (the “what”).