Health Promotion / Mental Health Promotion
Definition of health Promotion:
The
process of enabling individuals and communities to increase control over the
determinants of health and thereby improve their health.
Goals of mental health promotion
1. To increase resilience and protective factors:
1. 1. Increasing an individual’s or
community’s resilience
2.
Increasing
coping skills
3.
Improving
quality of life and feelings of satisfaction
4.
Increasing
self-esteem
6.
Strengthening
social support
7.
Strengthening
the balance of physical, social, emotional, spiritual and psychological health.
2. To decrease risk factors:
1. 1. Anxiety
2.
Depression
3.
Stress
and distress
4.
Sense
of helplessness
5.
Sexual
abuse
6.
Family
conflict
7.
Problem
substance use
8.
Suicide
9.
Violence.
3. To reduce inequities:
1. 1. Gender
2.
Poverty
3.
Physical
or mental disability
4.
Employment
status
5.
Race
6.
Ethnic
background
7. 7. Geographic location.
Factors that increase vulnerability to mental health problems:
1. Experience of insecurity and
hopelessness
2. Rapid social change
3. Risks of violence
4.
Physical ill-health
Risk factors for mental health problems:
1. Drugs/alcohol
2. Lack of education
3. Poor nutrition
4. Poverty
5. Racial injustice
6. Violence/delinquency
7. War
8. Work stress
9. Unemployment
Strategies to Promote Mental Health and Wellness:
1. Stress Management
2. Assertive Communication
3. Anger Management
4. Work-life balance
5. Positive thinking
6. Spirituality
7. Social Support
8. Meditation
Approaches to mental health promotion:
1. Recognizes the interrelatedness of mental health and
physical health.
2. Focuses on prevention and promotes mental health
across the life span.
3. Identifies risks that may contribute to illness
or disability.
4. Provides people with the knowledge and skills to
maintain optimal health and wellbeing.
5. Brings together individuals, communities and a
variety of systems to work collaboratively towards better mental health for
all.
6. Public health also plays an important role in
early intervention and recovery.
7. Communities can often reduce the severity of
mental illness and promote recovery through early identification of individuals
who may need assistance or support.
8. Public health systems can also provide
information on maintaining positive mental health to support people living with
mental illness.
Mental health promotion works at three levels:
1 1. Strengthening individuals:
Increasing emotional resilience through interventions to promote
self-esteem, life and coping skills, e.g. communicating, negotiating,
relationship and parenting skills. In
the promotion of healthy lifestyle, strengthening individuals is very important
for them to be able to make healthy choices; such as proper diet and nutrition,
regular physical activity, being smoke-free and mentally healthy.
2.
Strengthening communities:
Involves
increasing social inclusion and participation, improving neighborhood
environments, developing health and social services which support mental
health, anti-bullying strategies at school, workplace health, community safety,
child care and self-help networks. This
has also implications in NCD prevention and control, specifically towards
creating a supportive environment to promote healthy lifestyle
3.
Reducing structural barriers to mental health:
Through initiatives to reduce discrimination and inequalities and to promote access to
education, meaningful employment, housing, services and support for those who
are vulnerable. Promoting healthy lifestyle should also address inequities to
ensure a healthy population.
Image by Tumisu from Pixabay
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