Applying Salutogenesis in Community-Wide Mental Health Promotion

This chapter highlights the relevance of mental health as a resource and risk for population health and describes mental health problems and related financial and social implications for society, which has led to an increased focus on prevention of mental health problems in health policy lately. Using the river metaphor of salutogenesis and a mental health ease–disease continuum, mental health is seen not as a stable trait but rather as a constant process, which needs to be protected and promoted. Thus, mental health promotion is foremost focused on protective factors and promoting mental health resources at different levels of society and is relevant to everyone.The authors also present and describe the ‘Act-Belong-Commit’/‘ABCs of Mental Health’ Campaign, a world-first comprehensive, population-wide, community-based mental health promotion campaign designed to promote mental health and prevent mental ill health.

Salutogenesis and Mental Health Promotion in Military Settings

This chapter centers on salutogenic work in military settings in the context of mental health promotion. The author opens with a personal account of how he found himself engaging in salutogenic research within a military setting, and touches upon some moral questions that this research arena brings up. The author then describes negative consequences of military service, as a background for discussing some salutogenically oriented programs intended to enhance mental fitness of soldiers, accompanied by empirical research findings. Finally, the author suggests some insights and recommendations for further applications of salutogenesis in military settings.

Consequences of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Mental Health: Integrative Review

The lack of specific treatment and knowledge about the exact pathophysiology of the 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its vaccines makes the organic aspects of the pandemic a concern and puts the psychiatric consequences and psychological effects of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, in second place. Hence, the psychiatric impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have not been well established yet. We have performed an integrative literature review in three electronic databases: Medline, PsycINFO, and Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress (PILOTS). The findings were then divided into five subcategories: impacts of COVID-19 on the mental health of psychiatric patients; use of technology as an ally in combating impacts on mental health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; mental health promotion measures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic for the population; mental health promotion measures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic for health professionals; and mental health in specific groups in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study has showed that the situation and measures proposed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic cause stress, anxiety, fear, and uncertainty in the population. Psychiatric patients, the elderly, refugees, and migrant workers are more vulnerable due to the stigmatization and lack of specialized support in health services and reduced access to medications. Therefore, they require care from governments and health authorities. In addition, measures to promote hospital health for health professionals seem to be essential to improve care and reduce the psychologic/psychiatric impacts on professionals. Thus, technology is a valuable ally in this process.

Health and Lifestyle, Safety, Relationship and Personality Factors Influence Gender, Sex and Sexuality Issues among Youth—A Case Record Analysis from Youth Mental Health Promotion Clinics in Karnataka, India

Promoting positive identity and seeking early support for gender, sex and sexuality (GSS) issues among youth is vital. Understanding and addressing factors associated withGSS among them is critical. We assessed four-year case records (January 2017–December 2020) of all first visit youth mental health promotion clinic (YMHPC) clients (15–35 years) for factors associated with GSS issues in Karnataka. Overall, prevalence of GSS issues was 1.8% (189/10,340). Increased risk of GSS issues was observed among clients reporting suicidality (AOR = 4.27, 95% CI = 2.70–6.74) and relationship issues (AOR = 3.63, 95% CI = 2.36–5.57), followed by issues of safety (AOR = 2.56, 95% CI = 1.72–3.81), personality (AOR = 2.48, 95% CI = 1.60–3.85), health and lifestyle (AOR = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.77–4.19), smokers (AOR = 2.30, 95% CI = 1.24–4.27), and those who felt depressed (AOR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.43–3.09) and worthless (AOR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.28–3.39). Clients aged 21–25 years (AOR = 1.80,95% CI = 1.27–2.54), male (AOR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.20–2.46) and who had been married (AOR = 2.32, 95% CI = 1.51–3.57) had a higher risk of GSS issues than those aged 15–20 years and other counterparts, respectively. Clients who drank alcohol (AOR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.30–0.81) had reduced risk of GSS issues. The findings re-iterate the importance of early recognition of factors (essential precursors) of GSS issues among youth. The study highlights the importance of promoting awareness and improving primordial prevention of possible GSS issues in later life. This study has important implications on youth mental health promotion programs, especially in countries like India.

A Rapid Realist Review of Effective Mental Health Interventions for Individuals with Chronic Physical Health Conditions during the COVID-19 Pandemic Using a Systems-Level Mental Health Promotion Framework

The 2020 global outbreak of COVID-19 exposed and heightened threats to mental health across societies. Research has indicated that individuals with chronic physical health conditions are at high risk for suffering from severe COVID-19 illness and from the adverse consequences of public health responses to COVID-19, such as social isolation. This paper reports on the findings of a rapid realist review conducted alongside a scoping review to explore contextual factors and underlying mechanisms or drivers associated with effective mental health interventions within and across macro–meso–micro systems levels for individuals with chronic physical health conditions. This rapid realist review extracted 14 qualified studies across 11 countries and identified four key mechanisms from COVID-19 literature—trust, social connectedness, accountability, and resilience. These mechanisms are discussed in relation to contextual factors and outcomes reported in the COVID literature. Realist reviews include iterative searches to refine their program theories and context–mechanism–outcome explanations. A purposive search of pre-COVID realist reviews on the study topic was undertaken, looking for evidence of the robustness of these mechanisms. There were differences in some of the pre-COVID mechanisms due to contextual factors. Importantly, an additional mechanism—power-sharing—was highlighted in the pre-COVID literature, but absent in the COVID literature. Pre-existing realist reviews were used to identify potential substantive theories and models associated with key mechanisms. Based on the overall findings, implications are provided for mental health promotion policy, practice, and research.