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  • Open Access

The Status of Mental Health Promotion

Public Health Reviews201234:6

  • Published:


Mental health is a state of wellbeing in which a person can use his or her own abilities and cope with the normal stresses of life. Mental health has a central place in global public health and public health in all countries. Poor mental health is associated with social inequality and social disconnection. Good mental health contributes to human, social and economic development. There are strong interconnections between mental and physical health and behaviour. Concepts closely related to mental health include wellbeing, a broader concept, and resilience. Resilience is a dynamic concept referring to a person’s ability to maintain or regain health after exposure to adversity. Mental health and resilience both depend on interactions between personal characteristics and social factors such as safety and access to education and work.

Health promoting actions support people to adopt healthy ways of life and create living conditions and environments conducive to health. Improving the mental health of a population requires a comprehensive approach to promoting mental health alongside prevention and treatment of mental ill health. Actions that promote mental health and prevent mental illnesses may overlap.

The field of mental health promotion is evolving rapidly. Several countries are introducing evidence-based and cross-government policies and programs to promote wellbeing. Evidence is emerging on the cost-effectiveness of a number of these interventions; in parenting, schools, workplaces, older age, and other social support domains. Experience is growing on the development of partnerships and implementation in countries, the links between mental health and human rights, and the need for mental health promotion in low-income countries and in disaster situations and other emergencies. Continuing innovation, adaptation and evaluation of programs is now required, especially in low-income countries, to integrate mental health promotion in the public health agenda of countries worldwide.

Key Words

  • Mental health promotion
  • wellbeing
  • resilience
  • psychosocial programs
  • prevention
  • human rights