Loading...
The Role of Public Health in Mental Health
M. Dickens, Bernard
M. Dickens, Bernard
Author(s)
Author(s) (Additional)
Illustrator(s)
Producer(s)
Contributor(s)
Contributor(s) (Other)
Editor(s)
Advisor(s)
Contact(s)
Data Collector(s)
Keywords
Collections
Files
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Online Access
Abstract
"Th e Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) opens by stating that “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being...” Th is acknowledges that social conditions contribute to, or detract from, health, including mental health. Such factors as housing, income, employment and diet infl uence individuals’ health status, and their mental health can be reduced, for instance, by stress or anxiety related to income or employment insecurity, feelings of loneliness and cultural alienation. Th e Public Health Agency of Canada refl ects this wider vision of the social determinants of health in observing that public health is part of every aspect of our lives, from our houses to our work places, and our schools to our communities. Public health is about the way we live. Th e disciplines that contribute to public health go far beyond the traditional medical or health sciences. Th ey focus on epidemiology (the study of epidemics), but include sociology, economics, political science and group or mass psychology. A key commitment of public or population health is social justice, recognizing the mental health burden of suff ering injustice. Th e ethical principle of justice requires that like cases be treated alike, which is why following precedents is so important in law, and that diff erent cases be treated in ways that acknowledge the diff erence. Justice therefore requires comparisons and contrasts with how other cases have been resolved; that is, justice is an institution of society, not just a satisfactory resolution of a confl ict between two individuals. It is in drawing social contrasts that we can identify the higher rate of mental illness among disadvantaged populations, measured by higher rates of depression and anxiety. Th is is not to say that there is necessarily a higher incidence of major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, but that the senses of mental and social well-being among disadvantaged populations, part of the WHO description of health, appear lower.1"(pg 1)
Note(s)
Topic
Type
Article
Date
2011
Identifier
ISBN
DOI
Copyright/License
With permission of the license/copyright holder