KYN293_1: Public health and mental health promotion

Introduction

The term public health has two meanings: (a) dealing with threats to the public; (b) in the epidemiological context, measuring disease and planning strategies to prevent illness. If practitioners are serious about promoting mental health, they also need to consider and tackle the discrimination and exclusion encountered by people who experience mental distress. In this way they also start to address unseen mental health problems, and promote well-being.

Promoting well-being is a significant aspect of mental health promotion in which the focus is on wellness and enabling individuals to take control of their lives. This unit is an adapted extract from the course Developing mental health nursing practice (KYN293) [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .