Mental Health Promotion Initiatives Research Articles

Young People's Pathways to Well-being Following a Suicide Attempt

Little is known about young people's pathways to recovery following suicidal behaviour. An understanding of young people's experiences and transitions to recovery and well-being is required to inform the development of suicide prevention and mental health promotion initiatives. The aim of this study was to explore young people's experiences of recovery and well-being following a suicide attempt, through in-depth interviews with 27 young people who had presented to an emergency department. A number of useful techniques which may be helpful to young people in their transitions towards attaining a sense of self-responsibility and increased agency were identified, including active help-seeking from professionals and peers, practical problem-solving abilities, thinking positively and rediscovering a ‘will to live’.

This was a great project!': reflections on a ‘successful’ mental health promotion project in a remote Indigenous school

Issue addressed: The complexities encountered in an Indigenous community when a white project support team assisted a school (Bwgcolman on Palm Island, Queensland) to implement MindMatters, a centralised, national project aiming to promote the psychosocial health of young Australians through the development of a comprehensive, school- based mental health promotion program. Approach: The MindMatters consortium offered pilot schools curriculum materials, professional development for staff, funding and ongoing support at a local level in return for their participation in the project. The support team flew to the island on two occasions to provide support. Conclusion: Whether or not MindMatters constituted a community project at Bwgcolman is debatable. Nevertheless, the project at Bwgcolman was considered a 'success' by key players since initial aims identified by the school were tangible (eg, professional development, curriculum development) and met in a way that the school could take ownership of. Additionally, behavioural management policy was implemented in a manner that was cognisant of a history of coercive relations with Indigenous communities. So what?: It is important in the telling of the success story at Bwgcolman that even though MindMatters endeavoured to be culturally sensitive, it was nevertheless a centralist mental health promotion program. Future mental health promotion initiatives need to be aware that the approach of the support team in attempting to hand back some community control at the local level may have played a role in the school succeeding. (author abstract)

Individual and contextual effects on mental health status in São Paulo, Brazil

Objectives: There is evidence that mental health status is partly determined by socioeconomic status. Recent research in the U.K. has highlighted the importance of place or context as a health determinant. This study aimed to analyze both individual socioeconomic variables and area of residence as potential risk factors for mental ill health. The objectives were to determine whether the effects of key explanatory variables on mental health status varies by area of residence and whether area of residence has an independent effect on mental health status once other key variables have been controlled for. Methods: The study used data collected as part of the Brazilian Multicentric Study of Psychiatric Morbidity. Data from a cross-sectional survey carried out in three socioeconomically contrasting sub-districts in São Paulo, Brazil, was used. The main outcome measure was mental health status as measured by the Questionário de Morbidade Psiquiátrica de Adultos (QMPA). Results: The results demonstrate that, even after key individual socioeconomic variables were controlled for, area of residence had a statistically significant effect on mental health status. Discussion: A possible explanation for the effect of area of residence relates to the social and physical features of places and their subsequent impact on health. Conclusions: It is important for mental health research to acknowledge the potential importance of the effect of area of residence on health, particularly in relation to developing new mental health promotion initiatives.

Mental Health Promotion and Prison Health Care Staff in Young Offender Institutions in England

This paper presents the findings of an investigation into a mental health promotion initiative in young offender institutions across England. The study involved a survey of staff attitudes towards mental health promotion, and surveyed practice run by these staff. Analysis of staff descriptions of mental health promotion revealed a degree of confusion and a lack of clarity over the definition of mental health and mental health promotion. The concept of a mental health promotion initiative which aimed to improve the well‐being of the general inmate and staff population was not a shared vision and not part of the core work of either health care staff or prison officers. It is recommended that any future campaigns on mental health or health promotion should have a central lead, with some flexibility to allow for the development of local initiatives, fostering local relationships and partnerships.

Social Integration and Mental Health Promotion

Mental health promotion initiatives may be targeted towards different social units, such as a local community or a neighbourhood. It is then of crucial importance to identify those stressors which adversely impinge on mental health if we are to develop effective promotion/prevention programmes.

Mental Health Promotion in Victoria: A Strategic Approach

Health promotion has proved to be crucial in most areas of health, for example, cardiovascular health, cancer control and injury prevention. However, mental health promotion has hitherto been a very poor cousin by comparison with funds spent on other health promotion areas, and also by comparison with funds spent on mental health services. This situation is understandable. First, there has been a need to shake mental health services out of antiquity to ensure that they not only meet fundamental standards of human rights, but also begin to develop a focus on rehabilitation. Second, the amorphous, unspecific and often haphazard nature of the few existing mental health promotion programs has, to a degree, given mental health promotion a bad name. As mental health promotion initiatives must inevitably relate to social and structural issues, the health content of mental health promotion has sometimes been hard to identify.