Oxford Textbook of Public Mental Health

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Parenting Skills ◽  
Good Mental Health ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Managing Stress ◽  
Do So

In the next few years, the global burden of disease due to mental illness is likely to overtake that of cancer and heart disease. There is research evidence to suggest that nearly half of psychiatric disorders in adulthood start below the age of 15 and nearly three quarters do so before 24 years indicating specific periods of vulnerability. It is evident that mental health and physical health are strongly inter-connected and yet often the focus of public health is on physical health. Promotion of good mental health and education about prevention of mental illness can take many forms. From teaching parenting skills to learning about managing stress from an early age to early intervention can help reduce the burden of mental illness. Public mental health has come into its own as a speciality of psychiatry and thus of medicine only in the last two decades and that too only in some parts of the world. In spite of the evidence for prevention of mental illness and promotion of mental health is getting stronger by the day there appears to be some reluctance among clinicians to take on the role of educators and advocates for public mental health. A common reason is lack of training in the subject at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels as focus is on treatment rather than prevention. Positive mental health can lead to better outcomes at a number of levels. This book brings together evidence on various aspects of public mental health which can be used for advocacy and education.

Comment: ‘Devining’ The Role of the Consultant Psychiatrist in a Public Mental Health Service

1998 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 612-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Consultant Psychiatrist ◽  
Persistent Mental Illness ◽  
Public Mental Health Service ◽  
Key Players ◽  
Recovery Program

We admitted to ourselves, …and to our colleagues that we cannot treat people with severe and persistent mental illness as independent practitioners, and asked to be key players on the multidisciplinary team (Extract from A 12-Step Recovery Program for Psychiatrists [1]).

Peer Support Shows Promise in Helping Persons Living with Mental Illness Address Their Physical Health Needs

2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Bates ◽  
Vivien Kemp ◽  
Mohan Isaac
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Support Service ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
People With Mental Illness

The physical health of individuals with long-term mental illnesses has long been of concern. In Western Australia, the overall mortality rate from preventable causes of people living with mental illness was reported to be 2.5 times greater than that of the general population. A trial peer support service was initiated to assist people with mental illness to attend to their physical health needs. This paper presents the planning, implementation, and results of this collaborative initiative involving nongovernment agencies, the public mental health service, consumers of mental health services, and the University of Western Australia.

Urban design and mental health

2019 ◽  
pp. 32-48
Author(s):  
Layla McCay
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Economic Disparities ◽  
Urban Mental Health ◽  
Good Mental Health ◽  
Guidelines And Recommendations ◽  
The City

Associations between the urban living environment and mental health are becoming increasingly apparent. People who live in the city often have increased pre-existing risk factors for mental illness. However, intrinsic features of the city’s built environment can further exacerbate people’s risk of mental ill health. Cities can increase people’s exposure to socio-economic disparities and discrimination, deliver sensory input overload, and erode many of the protective factors that are associated with maintaining good mental health. Cities have not yet fully explored and leveraged the role of urban planners and designers in promoting and supporting public mental health. However, opportunities abound. Urban mental health may be improved by designing cities to provide residents with regular access to green space, integrating physical activity opportunities, facilitating positive, natural social interactions, and fostering feelings of safety. Integrating pro-mental-health design features into urban guidelines and recommendations can contribute to public mental health promotion and strengthen cities.

Improving Physical Health Among People With Serious Mental Illness: The Role of the Specialty Mental Health Sector

2021 ◽  
pp. appi.ps.2020007
Author(s):  
Emma E. McGinty ◽  
Rachel Presskreischer ◽  
Joshua Breslau ◽  
Jonathan D. Brown ◽  
Marisa Elena Domino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Specialty Mental Health

scholarly journals Plans, hopes and ideas for mental health

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Ashton
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Mental Health Foundation ◽  
Mental Well Being

SummaryMental health and the failings of the mental health services are in the spotlight as never before. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the often dire situation with regard to child and adolescent mental health. At the same time, there is a renewed interest in the scope for prevention of mental illness and distress, and in population approaches to mental well-being. It may come as a surprise to some that others have given such serious consideration to strategic approaches to public mental health as long ago as the 1950s. It appears that such consideration was squeezed out by the dominant concerns of serious and enduring mental illness and a prevailing biological view of psychiatry. The time is right to engage with this agenda in recognition of the importance of public mental health, not only for the individual and for families, but also for society as a whole and for the economy. The publication of a review of the subject by the Faculty of Public Health and the Mental Health Foundation is to be commended. Let us make sure it leads to action.

Fanon and Psychiatry

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Khalfa
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Psychiatric Care ◽  
Critical Attention ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Fanon wrote and published a number of psychiatric texts between 1951 and 1960, but they have hitherto been the subject of little critical attention. This article considers first Fanon's unpublished medical thesis, which contains a remarkably lucid discussion of the relationship of neurology and psychiatry: Fanon takes a position in the main debates of the time (in particular those opposing Ey and Lacan) which proves crucial for an understanding of his later work on alienation. This article then considers Fanon's published papers on his experiments with neuropsychiatric treatment in St Alban and in Blida, showing how he moved towards a sociotherapeutical approach, which in turn led him to consider the essential role of culture in mental illness. This article ends by examining Fanon's creation, in Tunis, of an institution of psychiatric care outside of the asylum, which he saw as a blueprint for mental health care in the future.

scholarly journals The Role of Animal Ownership for People with Severe Mental Illness during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Method Study Investigating Links with Health and Loneliness

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 11908
Author(s):  
Emily Shoesmith ◽  
Panagiotis Spanakis ◽  
Emily Peckham ◽  
Paul Heron ◽  
Gordon Johnston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Research has reported the benefits of companion animals for people with severe mental illness (SMI). However, this evidence base is fragmented and unclear. The COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity to explore the role of companion animals in the context of social distancing and isolation measures for people with SMI. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the links between mental and physical health and animal ownership in people with SMI and to explore animal owners’ perceptions related to human–animal interactions during the pandemic restrictions. A survey was conducted with a previously assembled cohort of individuals with SMI in the UK. The survey included previously validated and new bespoke items measuring demographics, and outcomes related to mental and physical health, and human–animal interactions. The survey also included a question inviting free-text responses, allowing participants to describe any experiences of their human–animal relationships during the pandemic. Of 315 participants who consented to participate, 249 (79%) completed the survey. Of these, 115 (46.2%) had at least one companion animal. Regression analyses indicated that animal ownership was not significantly associated with well-being and loneliness. However, animal ownership was associated with a self-reported decline in mental health (b = 0.640, 95% CI [0.102–1.231], p = 0.025), but no self-reported change in physical health. Thematic analysis identified two main themes relating to the positive and negative impact of animal ownership during pandemic restrictions. Animal ownership appeared to be linked to self-reported mental health decline in people with SMI during the second wave of the pandemic in the UK. However, the thematic analysis also highlighted the perceived benefit of animal ownership during this time. Further targeted investigation of the role of human–animal relationships and the perceived human–animal bond for human health is warranted.

The role of mass media in suicide prevention

2021 ◽  
pp. 671-682
Author(s):  
Michael Westerlund ◽  
Thomas Niederkrotenthaler
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Media Effects ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Subject

Most researchers in the field of suicide and mass media nowadays agree that the studies carried out to date have substantiated the existence, under certain circumstances, of genuine suicidal ‘contagion’ from suicide reports in the media. The fact that many studies have demonstrated an association between media reporting of suicide and actual suicidal behaviour has also prompted the issue of various types of recommendations on how the media should report on the subject of suicide to avoid imitative behaviour. In addition to harmful media effects, protective potentials of media reporting have emerged as a major research field in suicide prevention in the last decade, with high relevance to public mental health. The purpose of this text is to discuss and identify the problems associated with research on suicide and the media, with a number of seminal articles published over the years serving as examples.

Genetic influences across the age span

2018 ◽  
pp. 55-58
Author(s):  
Edward Shaw ◽  
Daniel J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Significance

Most psychiatric disorders have a genetic component. Mental illness tends to occur as a consequence of the dynamic interaction between genetic vulnerabilities and environmental risk factors. Future advances in public mental health should bear in mind the important role of genetics in determining mental health and well-being. Genetic research raises important ethical considerations. The challenges of discovering genetic risk factors for psychiatric disorders are outlined, along with examples of recent discoveries from large-scale genetic epidemiological research. The focus is on an age span perspective, with consideration of the role of epigenetic processes during development. Discoveries in childhood (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), adulthood (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) and older-age (Alzheimer’s disease) are summarized. The public health significance of psychiatric genetics is considered within the context of ongoing global efforts to understand the causes of mental illness and how this might lead to new approaches to diagnosis, classification, and treatment.

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