GWG on Mental Health Promotion
Background
Good mental health is an integral component of population health and wellbeing and contributes to the functioning of individuals, families, communities and society (WHO, 2013). As recognized by the World Health Organization in its Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020, strategies focused on curing mental ill-health alone will not necessarily deliver on improved mental health at a population level. Mental health promotion is concerned with strengthening protective factors for good mental health and enabling access to skills, resources and supportive environments that will keep individuals and populations mentally healthy. There is compelling international evidence that there are effective and feasible interventions for promoting mental health that when implemented effectively can enhance protective factors for good mental health, reduce risk factors for mental disorders, and lead to lasting positive effects on a range of health, social and economic outcomes (Barry, Clarke, Petersen and Jenkins, 2019). With the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), mental health has for the first time been included explicitly as an integral component of the global development agenda (Target 3.4).
Mental health is a positive resource for living that requires whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches. Upstream policies and practices are needed to ensure that the conditions that create good mental health and reduce inequities are accessible to all. The COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the urgent need to address the mental health impact of the virus at a population level, including addressing the effects of isolation and loneliness, fear, anxiety, depression and domestic violence. However, the capacity to deliver effective strategies, especially with regard to mental health promotion and primary prevention, needs to be strengthened.
This IUHPE Global Working Group is being formed to advance the professional development and integration of mental health promotion within the wider health promotion field and to advocate for a greater focus on implementing mental health promotion within global health and development agendas. The Global Working Group will engage members in considering how this can be achieved and articulating what capacity needs to be developed to ensure that mental health promotion can be more fully integrated into mainstream health promotion and sustainable development strategies. Position papers, statements and other outputs will be developed to outline what systems need to be put in place to support the development and implementation of mental health promotion action plans, and to identify what workforce skills and capacities are needed to promote population mental health and wellbeing in different countries globally.
Mission
Mission
To advance mental health promotion policy, practice and research, and support evidence-based action and training that will contribute to population health and wellbeing and reduce health inequities within and between countries globally.
Aims
-
To position mental health promotion more centrally within the global health promotion field and
health systems, enhancing recognition of its contribution to population health, wellbeing and
equity; -
To advocate for a greater focus on implementing mental health promotion within the global and
national health and sustainable development agendas; -
To provide a platform for the sharing of knowledge and good practice among mental health
promoters globally; -
To build workforce capacity for mental health promotion through identifying core competencies
and education and training for practice.
Work Plan 2020-2022
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To develop an IUHPE Position Paper and selected position statements on mental health promotion, clearly outlining it central role within the global health promotion field and its contribution to population health and wellbeing;
-
To develop an advocacy model for global mental health promotion that can be used to advance the position of mental health promotion within the global and national health and development agendas;
-
To develop a community of practice and a platform for the sharing of knowledge and good practice
among mental health promoters globally; -
To identify core competencies for mental health promotion and develop a core curriculum for
education and training in mental health promotion practice; -
To organise dedicated webinars and related presentations on mental health promotion, including a
sub-plenary at the IUHPE Global Conference – submission for the Montréal Conference in 2022.
Membership
Name and Country |
Affiliation |
Margaret Barry, Ireland |
Chair of the Global Working Group IUHPE former-President, WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Promotion Research, University of Galway, Ireland This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
Nikita Boston-Fisher |
Assistant Director, Laidley Centre for Business Ethics, Desaultels Faculty of Management, McGill University Trustee, IUHPE NARO |
Mariette Chartier, Canada |
Senior Research Scientist, Assistant Professor, Manitoba Centre for Health |
Aleisha Clarke, Ireland |
Programme Manager for Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and Research, Health Service Executive, Dublin, Ireland |
Marion Cooper, Canada |
Executive Director, Canadian Mental Health Association Winnipeg/ Manitoba, Canada |
Kevin Dadaczynski, Germany |
Professor, Department of Nursing and health Science, Fulda University of Applied Sciences, Germany |
Aisling Doherty, Ireland |
Senior Health Promotion & Improvement Officer, Training & Mental Health Promotion Lead, Health Service Executive, Dublin, Ireland |
Janet Fanslow, New Zealand |
Associate Professor, School of Population Health, University of Auckland, New Zealand |
Juliana Fleury, Brazil
|
President of ASEC Brazil– Child Mental and Emotional Health Association, |
Ciaran Fox, New Zealand |
Mental Health Promotion Strategist, Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand |
Emily Jenkins, Canada
|
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, |
Vibeke Jenny Koushede, Denmark |
Professor and Head of Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark |
Shahar Lev-Ari, Israel |
Member and Former Chair of the Department of Health Promotion, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel |
Pascale Mantoura, Canada |
National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy (NCCHPP), Institut |
Miranda Novak, Croatia |
Associate Professor, Department of Behavioural Disorders, Faculty of |
Orkan Okan, Germany |
Professor - Chair of Health Literacy, TUM Department of Sport and Health Sciences, Technical University Munich, Germany |
Debra Rickwood, Australia |
Professor of Psychology, University of Canberra and Chief Scientific Advisor and Executive Director, National Youth Mental Health Foundation, Australia |
Anne Sheridan, Ireland |
Former National Lead for Mental Health Promotion, Health Service Executive Health & Wellbeing, Ireland |
Jude Stansfield, United Kingdom |
National Adviser, Public Mental Health & Healthy Communities, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Department of Health and Social Care and Leeds Beckett University, England |
Nina Tamminen, Finland |
Senior Specialist, Mental Health Team, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland |
Irene Verins, Australia |
Lead of Wellness and Prevention Programs, Beyond Blue, Australia |
Jacopo Villani, Ireland |
Mental Health Service Coordinator for Travellers Health Service Executive, Ireland |
Dane Waller, Australia |
ISECN Global Co-Chair, Mental Health Writer - Psychwire |
Orla Walsh, Ireland |
Project Manager - Mental Health & Wellbeing, Health Service Executive, Health & Wellbeing, Dublin, Ireland |
Chair’s and members’ responsibilities:
Margaret Barry will serve as the initial founding Chair of this group, a role that will rotate. The Global
Working Group will be organised into task-based sub-groups aligned with the different streams of
activity in the work plan. Each sub-group will have a chair/co-chairs who will convene the group and
organise the development and delivery of the work programme. Additional members will be
encouraged to join the groups in order to expand the reach and representation of the GWG.
Publications
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Working Group on Mental Health Promotion has recently published a Position Statement on "Critical Actions for Mental Health Promotion".
Download the statement in English here.
This document is also available in French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, and Finnish.
The Mental Health Promotion Knowledge Competencies document was developed to identify the knowledge necessary to enable mental health promotion teams to effectively implement mental health promotion programmes.
Read the Mental Health Promotion Knowledge Competencies in English here.