Evidence-based mental health promotion resource - health.vic.gov.au

20 Evidence-based mental health promotion resourceDefinitionA determinant of health is a factor orcharacteristic that brings about a change inhealth, either for the better or for the worse(Reidpath 2004).Useful resourcesHealth Canada has good informationabout the social determinants of health.Its website (www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hppb/phdd/determinants/e_determinants.html#income)introduces the social determinants ofhealth, as well as the ‘made in Canada’principles of health promotion.Marmot, M & Wilkinson, R 2002, Socialdeterminants of health: the solid facts, 2ndedn, Geneva, World Health Organization.Available at www.who.dk/healthy-cities.VicHealth commissioned a literature review (Rychetnik & Todd 2004) to follow the1999–2002 Framework for the Promotion of Mental Health and Wellbeing. The reviewidentifi ed three categories of mental health determinants to guide the literature review:social connectedness, freedom from discrimination and violence, and economicparticipation. and the review addressed two broad questions:1. What published information is available about the identifi ed determinants of mentalhealth and the relationships between the determinants and mental health?2. What is the evidence for potential interventions to address these determinants andpromote mental health?Building on this body of work, the second VicHealth plan, A Plan for Action 2005–2007:Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing (VicHealth 2005b), was launched in March2005.2.2 Determinants of mental health and areas for actionA determinants approach incorporates understanding how behaviour affects bothsocial processes and disease risk, and how social and structural conditions enhanceor diminish opportunities for communities and populations to be healthy. Suchapproaches highlight the importance of cross-sectoral interventions that are plannedand implemented at multi-levels, with the emphasis on infl uencing one or moredeterminants of health, rather than a disease. The considerable literature on thedeterminants of health identifi es the complex interactions among determinants andacross social, environmental, economic and biological dimensions (Keleher & Murphy2004; World Health Organisation 2003).The 10 element map of McDonald and O’Hara (1998 in HEA 2001) identifi ed positiveand negative infl uences on mental health – those that both promote and demote mentalhealth and wellbeing.Figure 2: 10 elements of mental health – positive and negative influences(Source: McDonald & O’Hara 1998 in HEA 2001.)